Must Befriend Must Avenge Must Love
by Unknown-Uchiha
Summary: One girl. Two guys. She is lonely. He is an avenger. The other is a loveless creature. Manami Hyuga. Uchiha Sasuke. Subaku No Gaara. Will both end up heartbroken? Will both win her love? [GaaraxOCxSasuke] Rated T for safety and language
1. Chapter 1

**Name:** Manami Hyuga

**Age:** 12-13

**Appearance: **Picture website is on my profile!!

You have the two-tiled demon inside you. You have fanboys, HEAPS OF FANBOYS!! Pretend the two tailed demon didn't get captured by Akatsuki. Your brother is Neji. You have already developed the byakugan. Your weapon: Fire arrows and Fire bows. You are truly skilled.You can disappear out of nowhere and attack your opponents. (in case you didn't get the chapter when you were fighting with Kakashi) The two tailed demon tries to take over you whenever you're alone for about half an hour.

* * *

_Those reviews make me smile!! _

_THEY MAKE ME VERY HAPPY!!_

_WOOT WOOT WHO WILL WIN MANAMI-CHAN??? GAARA-KUN? OR UCHIHA-SAN??_

_Sasuke: Pshhh... it's soo gonna be me... you might as well back off GAARA_

_Gaara: Whatever emo-boy._

_Me: Guys... you don't have to fight right now... it will make this page MESSY WITH BLOOD_

_Sasuke and Gaara: wtf...?_

_Manami: Unknown-Uchiha IS RIGHT!! _

_Sasuke and Gaara: Manami? When did you get here?_

_Manami: I dunno... how did YOU get here???_

_Me: anyways..._

_Manami, Sasuke, Gaara and ME: JAA NE!! STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!! 3_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter One: Another day of dealing with Another day.**_

**A/N:**

**This story is going to be my only plot, as in I'm not going to do that whole Zabuza and Haku thing, too tiring. I'm only going to do the Chunnin exams and other stuff. [[x means something like, "time passes", or "later", or "FF"**

**Your POV**

You woke up early in the morning. You hate to wake up after others. It just bothers you. You looked at the clock. 6:00am. _I might as well go to the Academy early… __again_You thought. You did your morning routine and headed downstairs to prepare breakfast. Your own breakfast. For you. Only. You made two pieces of toast, which disappeared in 5 seconds. What? That's how you are, you eat quick, but not like a pig, because you hardly eat at home. Only 6:30am. _Damn, Can't time go any faster around here? _You thought. You decided to go to the Academy. So you left the house, not a sound to be heard.

As soon as you entered the classroom, you could only see one person sitting at a desk. Sasuke Uchiha. You glance at him and walk to the desk he was sitting at. "You… You wouldn't mind me sitting here… would you?" You mumbled. You hate to be alone (I'll tell you later on in the story about why you hate to be alone). He stared at you. You could tell by him staring at you, that was probably the first time he's ever heard you speak. "Hn." He said as he nodded. You sit next to him and wait.

Silence.

What a glorious word.

Not when you're in a room, sitting next to Sasuke Uchiha, with NO ONE else there.

One word.

Awkward.

He was staring out the window. You glance at the clock. 8:15am. _Wow… that's how long we've been silent for? _You thought. "I… I should probably sit somewhere else, if you're fangirls catch me sitting next to you, and my fanboys catch you sitting next to me, we're gonna be in trouble." You mumbled. "Yeah." He replied. You sigh. You walk to the opposite side of the room, and take a seat.

30 seconds passed and the rest of the students piled inside. Nearly all the boys came over to you. They were hitting on you, trying to get a date from you, Aw hell, they were trying to get some WORDS from you. Nice words. Kiba came to you and said, "Hey baby, I'm like a rubix cube, the more you play with me, the harder I get." Now that was just WRONG. You turn your head away in disgust. You could see that Sasuke was having the same problem.

Iruka entered the room and the whole class went to their seats. Iruka had announced that we were going to be put into three-man teams, one of them was going to be four.

[[x

"… Team 7, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and Manami Hyuuga. _Hm. Teamed up with a hyper ramen-lover, and obsessed bubblegum girl, and a (quite handsome) Uchiha prodigy. This is going to be interesting. _You thought. "Your jounin sensei's will arrive here soon." Iruka finished.

[[x

You were sitting in the classroom with your team. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were sitting at the front of the room. You were sitting right at the back, hoping to be unnoticed, although that would be quite impossible since there were only four people in the room. Naruto decided to play a trick on their sensei by putting a chalkboard eraser on top of the door, since he was late. Five minutes later, a whitish-silverish haired jounin entered the room. You guessed that he was your new sensei. The eraser had fallen on him. sweatdrop

Your sensei took Team 7 to the roof, and he said stuff like, "Introduce yourself, hobbies, likes, dislikes and your dream." Naruto went first and all he talked about was ramen and being hokage. Sakura just kept blushing. Sasuke was depressing. You were quiet. Your sensei did some crappy introduction. His name was Kakashi Hatake.

Later on, Kakashi left to read more of his pervy book, Naruto went to eat more ramen, and Sakura left to help her mother with housework. So that just left you and Sasuke.

Sasuke was about to leave as well, but you didn't want him to leave. "Please, don't leave me here." You mumbled. Sasuke stopped walking.

He turned to look at you. "Why? Couldn't you walk home by yourself?" He said in an emotionless tone. You sigh. "Couldn't you just walk to where Neji-niisan is?" You asked. He shook his head. "I'd rather not." He said. You sigh. "Please. Just walk me to him. It's not that hard." You mumble. You knew Sasuke was getting curious. "Fine, I'm only doing this because you're not a fangirl." He said. You smile a little.

15 minutes passed and both you and Sasuke reach Neji and his team in the training grounds. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me." You mumbled before leaving him. He watched you as you walked towards Neji.

**Sasuke's POV**

You watched Manami walk towards her brother. You liked her. She wasn't as loud as the other girls in the village, and she wasn't a fangirl of yours. Although, you couldn't get why walking her to her brother meant so much.

**Your POV**

You kept your arms crossed. Neji saw you walking and ran up to you. "Hey, Manami." He said. "Ohayo, niisan. I'm guessing you missed, me." You replied. "What makes you think that?" He asked. "You ran all the way to me. And I'm fine to just walk to you." You said. "Whatever." He smirks. You watch Neji and his team train. You love the way Tenten can control her weapons so easily, the way Lee can master taijutsu and the way Neji can be so sharp.

[[x

A few hours had passed and Neji said that it was time to go home. After you ate dinner, you went up to Neji's and your room (yeah… you share a room with him) and… wrote notes in a book. You don't like to call it a diary, but you call it one anyway.

_Dear Diary,_

_Today Iruka-sensei said that we going to be put into three-man teams. One with four. I was teamed up with Uzumaki-san, Haruno-san and Uchiha-san. My new sensei is a jounin. He has whitish, silverish hair and wears a mask. His headband is tilted, so it covers his left eye. It's stupid to hide your face like that, all I can see is his right eye! His name is Hatake Kakashi. Uchiha-san was kind enough to walk to Neji-niisan. I still don't know what to do with the two-tailed demon! It's… scary._

As soon as you finished writing, Neji entered the room. "Are you okay?" He asked. "Yeah, why do you ask?" You replied. "I'm worried. Can you handle the two-tailed demon thing?" He asked. "N…No. I can't. It's uncontrollable… I hate it." You said. Neji sits next to you on your bed. You hug him and slowly, you mumbled,

"I'm scared."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Two: Sleepover!? What?!**_

**Your POV**

Neji let go of you and stared at you intently. "Just make sure, if you need anything, or if you're having trouble with anything, tell me." He said. You nod. Later on, you got changed into your pajamas. Your black and red spaghetti strap top had a small cherry design in the bottom corner and your pajama bottoms were shorts that were pure black. You went to bed before Neji.

**[[x**

You woke up the next morning. You did your morning routine and stared at Neji whilst he was sleeping. He was upside down, with his head hanging from the edge of the bed. You giggle quietly. As you can see, you and Neji live together. Alone. No parents. Yeah, no parents. So it was very quiet. You walk out and prepare breakfast. For yourself. Neji woke up and walked you to the training grounds.

You and Neji wait at the training grounds. It was only 5:30am. You sat on the grass. Kakashi told you to wait here for some training thing. No one else was there yet. You decided to sing to yourself, since there was nothing else to do.

_You took a piece of my heart,_

_I never thought that this could fall apart,_

_You said you fell in love,_

_And this is more than I have ever been afraid of…_

Neji loved the way you sang. He always compliments you. You don't mind. A figure came out of the bushes. It was Sasuke. It's such a coincidence that you're always with Sasuke. In the classroom, getting in his team and now this. Neji saw Sasuke and said, "I guess you're not alone now. Gotta go." It was obvious where he was going. To sleep. You sigh.

Sasuke walked over and sat next to you. Pretty surprising to see Sasuke coming up to you. "Nice singing. The song suits you" He mumbled. "How does it suit me?" You asked. "I dunno. It just does." He replies. You nod. You knew Kakashi was going to be one of those late freaks. You saw it in him the day you met him, which was yesterday. "Why don't you talk to anyone else in the class?" Sasuke asked. "Why don't _you_?" You mumbled. "Touché." He smirked.

Sakura and Naruto arrived later on. 6:00 Am. How fun this was going to be. You could tell Sakura and Naruto didn't eat anything. "I can't believe they actually listened to Kakashi-sensei." You mumbled. Sasuke scoffed. You walked over to Sakura and Naruto. You reached into your pouch. You got out two sandwiches. "Here." You mumbled. They gaped at you, their expression: "O.O" They took the sandwiches. No argument.

You were getting _really_ ticked off. You kicked a tree as every minute passed by. Sasuke sat in his depressing position. Sakura was trying to get a date from Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun!" She screams. You have no idea how Sasuke can handle her high-pitched, annoying voice. Naruto was getting ticked off by Kakashi too. Kakashi arrived five-freaking hours later. Sakura and Naruto were screaming at him in frustration.

**[[x**

A few hours have passed. You remember Kakashi saying that we had to get some bell, not that it really mattered to you. Yes. You do get bored easily. You lay behind a tree, staying hidden. Sakura saw you leaning and walked over to your tree. "Aren't you going to get the bells?" She asked. You shake your head. "No. Now go away." You mumbled. She walked off. She knew you were a good fighter. You saw Naruto getting picked on by Kakashi. You also heard him say something like, "Now, to get the others." You knew what that meant. He was going to hunt each of you down. Five minutes passed and you were still leaning on the tree. You heard Sakura scream. You activate your Byakugan and look for the reason of the scream. "Must've put some genjutsu on her," You mumbled. "He better not scare the crap out of me." Five seconds later, there were about ten Kakashis surrounding you.

"Great." You mumbled. The ten Kakashis ran up to you and tried to get the opportunity to hurt you. "Over my dead body." You said. You jumped high in the air. The Kakashis jumped in the air as well. You disappeared, which made the Kakashis confused. You hid in the tree's branches and got your fire bow and fire arrows ready. You aim the arrows at the Kakashis and they all disappear except for one. The real Kakashi. He had one arrow in his back. He pulled it out before it could burn him. He landed on the ground and ran up the tree you were on.

You kicked him in the stomach (near the place where "the sun don't shine") and he punches you on the face. Blood came out from both Kakashi's and your mouth. He disappeared and reappeared behind you. You disappeared before he could land a hit on you. You reappeared high in the air and came speeding towards Kakashi. You turned your hand into a fist and placed a huge amount of chakra in it. You were angry. You tried to punch Kakashi but he dodged, just in time. Once your fist touched the ground, the whole area surrounding you and Kakashi collapsed. The ground was split. He gasped. He had never seen such strength. You disappear again and reappear behind him you stab a kunai in his shoulder. "Okay, we'll stop for now." He said. He pulled the kunai out of his shoulder. He hands you a bell. You stare at him, as if to say, why-are-you-giving-me-the-bell? "You deserve it." He said, as if reading your mind. You take the bell and before you walked away he said, "You're a really skilled ninja. You have enough skill to become a jounin ninja, possibly an ANBU. Do you want to become one?" You shrug. "Maybe. I'll… think about it." You mumble. You lay back down on the tree and rest.

**[[x**

Two hours had passed. You got bored, so you waited for everyone else to finish being scared by Kakashi. Everyone arrived, looking exhausted. Naruto glanced at you. "Why aren't you tired?" He asked. You shrug. Before you could answer him, Kakashi stepped in. "Because she was a pretty good battle. Not much hassle." He said. "Whatever." You mumbled.

You all passed the test in the end. It turned out to be some test about teamwork. You asked Kakashi to walk you home. "So, do you want to become an ANBU?" Kakashi asked. "I'd love to, but I don't know what my brother would think." You replied. "Manami, I know that you have the two-tailed demon inside you." He said. You gasped. "H-how did you know?" You stuttered. "The hokage said." He replied. "Oh…" You whispered. "Tell me, I've always noticed that you're never alone, why? I mean, everyone's gotta have their own time, right?" He said. "I don't know if I should tell you…" You mumbled. "You should tell me; at least I can try to do something about it." He said. "Okay, I have the two-tailed demon inside me, and it's not exactly the type of demon you'd want to mess with… You see, if I'm alone for at least half an hour, the demon will try to take over me. I don't want that to happen." You said. Kakashi nodded. "I see… Do you want me to tell the hokage?" He asked. "Okay, just as long as he doesn't speak a word of it to anyone else." You mumbled. Kakashi took you to your front door. "Arigato, Kakashi-sensei, for understanding my situation." You said. He smiled, well, at least you thought so, you could only see his eye. "Anytime! Oh, and also, the rest of the team is coming over to Sakura's have a sleepover! Be sure to come over… or else…" He said. Before you could protest, he disappeared.

**Sasuke's POV**

You were training in the forest. You were determined to beat Kakashi. All of a sudden, Naruto came running towards you. "Sasuke-teme! Sasuke-teme!! Guess what!?!" He screamed. "What." You mumbled. "We're going to sleepover at Sakura-chan's house!! Team 7!! Us!" He shouted. "So?" You mumbled. "Kakashi-sensei said so! Also, Manami-chan's gonna be there! Do you think she'd like flowers?" He said. He ran to his house. _Naruto wouldn't give flowers to Manami… I should come, just in case he tries anything, and after all, she is the closest girl I know. _You thought.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Three: Truth or Dare**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I only own The Oc(s) and the plot. I wouldn't be writing fanfictions if I owned Naruto because I would be putting it in the actual series. (DUH) **

**Your POV**

You arrived at Sakura's house five minutes later. You knocked on the door and she opened it. "Manami-san! We are going to have so much fun!" She said. You walked inside and found Naruto watching the television. He glomped you as soon as he saw you entering the lounge room. "Ohayo, Manami-chan!!!!!" He screamed. You nod and he let you go. He then gave you a red rose. "This is for you!" He said. You take the rose and mumbled, "A…Arigato, Uzumaki-san…" Naruto put on a big goofy smile. You sit quietly in the lounge room and then someone knocked on the door. "I'll get it!" Sakura shouted. She opened the door and started screaming. You ran over to her. "What's wrong!!??" You asked. "SASUKE-KUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed. You have an anime sweatdrop. "All that because of some guy…" You sigh. "I'll get you a drink, SASUKE-KUN!!!!!!" She screamed. She ran to the kitchen. You were left alone with Sasuke. Again. "Why are you here?" You mumbled. "Just in case Naruto would try to do anything to you." He replied. "I can take care of myself." You said. He only shrugged.

**[[x**

You and Sasuke were sitting down on the couch whilst Sakura and Naruto sat down on the floor. They wanted to play truth or dare, and you mumbled, "Fine, as long as it doesn't keep me bored." (I guess you can say that you're more social than Sasuke) You sat down on the floor quietly. Sakura wanted Sasuke to play SO much. She begged. He refused. Typical. "Just play, Uchiha-san. I can't take the

-Annoying- screams of someone." You mumbled as you looked at Sakura. Surprised that you called him "Uchiha-san" and not "Sasuke-kun", He still refused. "Chicken." You mumbled. "I heard that." He said. "You were meant to." You said. "Fine. I'll play." He said. "Thank Kami-sama… (God)" Sasuke took a seat next to you.

**[[x**

You were sitting in the circle. Half an hour had passed. You watched the bottle go round and round and round… and then it pointed at… Sasuke. "Truth or Dare?" Sakura asked… enthusiastically. "Dare." He mumbled. Sakura began to speak, "Okay! I dare you to kiss—"

"Manami-chan on the lips for a whole minute!!" Naruto interrupted.

"WHAT???????!!!!" You and Sakura screamed.

"A dare's a dare!" Naruto said.

"Fine." Sasuke said. He leaned over to you. "No! I don't want my first kiss to be—" You were interrupted by Sasuke's lips crashing into yours. You blush madly. Naruto whooped and Sakura's mouth dropped open. Sasuke shoved his tongue into your mouth. Your cheeks were BURNING. _Oh. My. GOD! Sasuke's kissing me. ME. He stole my first kiss!! Hey… he's a good kisser…WAIT!! WTF am I THINKING!?!? _You thought. You felt Sasuke's hands being placed around your waist. You looked at the clock whilst he was kissing you. _Hurry up… Hurry up!! ONE MINUTE!!! HURRY UP!!! _You mentally screamed. Your body didn't want to move away from him, in fact, you were starting to like it. As if it was instinct, your arms wrapped around Sasuke's neck, bringing him closer. Sasuke smirked.

"Okay! Time's up!! You can let go of each other now!!" said Sakura nervously. Sasuke let go of you and you sighed. _It's about time…_ You thought.

The bottle spun and it landed on Naruto… wait, Sakura! WAIT! Sasuke… NO!! It landed on YOU! "Truth or Dare?" Naruto asked. "Truth. And no personal questions… or else" You mumbled. Naruto gulped nervously and decided not to mess with you. "Etou (um)… Who is your… best friend?" He asked. You sighed. "I don't have a best friend, demo (but), there was this boy I knew… I was six years old. I know his name… but I haven't had contact with him for years. I guess you could say he was my best friend." You said. "What was his name?" Naruto asked. "That's another question." You said. "Hehe… Right." He said.

It was nearly 10:00pm. Everyone was asleep. Except for you. You were sitting on the rooftop of Sakura's house. It was a full moon. You remember the times you had with your best friend.

"Gaara…" That one word escaped your lips.

Your best friend was Subaku No Gaara. You became a genin at the age of five. Once you turned six, you had a mission to deliver a package to the sand village, and that was where you met Gaara. He was the one that probably understood you the most. You felt that he was just as alone as you. You burdened your family. No one cared for you.

[Begin Flashback

You already delivered the package to the Kazekage. The rest of your team was out on a mission, so you were on your own. You were as bored as hell, so you decided to play in a playground or something, you know, meet kids and stuff. A few minutes later, you found a playground filled with kids. Then you spot a red haired boy, running up to the other kids, hoping to befriend them, but sadly, the other kids ran away, crying, screaming. You saw hurt in the boys eyes. You walked up to him. "Etou... Daijobu ka? (Are you alright)" You asked quietly. He looked up with tears in his eyes. "Y… Yeah. I'm fine." His voice cracked. He was sitting on a swing with a cute teddy bear in his arms. There was one thing you hated, and that was to see tears in another's eyes. You sat on the swing next to him. "You don't look fine." You said. "I don't like the other kids running away from me all the time… that's all." He mumbled. "Why do they run away from you?" You asked. "I don't think I should tell you…" He said. "C'mon, tell me. I'm not gonna run away or anything" You said reassuringly. "I'm a demon… Everyone hates me." He said. You gasp. _This boy's just like me…_ You thought. When Gaara heard you gasp, his eyes saddened instantly. "I suppose you wouldn't want to talk to me now…" He mumbled. "No. I want to stay with you. I'm not scared. I'm actually relieved." You smiled. He looked at you in a confused way. "Are? (Huh? Pronounced: ah-reh)" He asked. "I have the two tailed demon inside me. So don't worry. I'm just like you. I'm a burden." You mumbled. You smiled at him. "Here. Have this." You said as you handed a necklace with a red diamond hanging from it. "Look after it." You said. "D… Demo… this is yours." Gaara mumbled. "Don't worry, I have another one. You have a red one, and I have a white! We can be best friends!" You said. "My name's Manami Hyuga." You said. "I'm Subaku No Gaara…" Gaara mumbled. You nod. "Someday, we can meet again, and then we can be best friends again." You said. Gaara nodded. You hug him quickly. "Jaa ne (See ya)… Gaara-kun." You waved as you ran off, back to Konoha. Gaara studied the necklace and as you ran Gaara mumbled,

"Manami Hyuga."

[End of Flashback

You sighed. You missed him. You could sense somebody's chakra. "Who's there?" You said. Sasuke came out of the shadows. Again, you were alone with him. "What do you want?" You mumbled. "Nothing." He replied. "So why are you here?" You asked. "I don't know. I felt like it." He said. You shivered. It was cold outside. You felt something drape over your shoulders. It was a blanket. "Nani… (What)" You said in surprise. "I figured that you would feel cold out here, so I brought a blanket." Sasuke said. You nod slowly. "Arigato…" You said. So there you were, snuggled up in a blanket next to Sasuke Uchiha.

"So… I hear the Chuunin [sp? Exams are coming up… Do you think you'll have a chance?" You asked, trying to break the silence. "Have a chance at what?" Sasuke asked. "Becoming a chuunin." You said. "Oh. I don't know. Perhaps I could become a chuunin… But who knows?" He said. You smiled at Sasuke. "You've got a beautiful smile." Sasuke said. A tint of pink showed on your cheeks. "That kiss back there… it was pretty hectic wasn't it?" Sasuke said. "Un… (Yeah)" you mumbled. "But it was nothing, right? I mean, it was only a dare." Sasuke mumbled. "Yeah… it was just a moment." You said. "Hn. You should go to sleep." Sasuke mumbled. "Right." You said. You stood up with the blanket still draped over you shoulders and walked back in the lounge room with Sasuke.

* * *

_Don't forget guys, if you want to see the image of yourself for this fanfic, go to my profie and you should find the website there!! Jaa ne! Hopefully you like this story so far!!_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter Four: Reunited With A Friend**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I also don't own when you're gone by Avril Lavigne!!**

**A/N:**

**Bold writing in Italics means that it's your inner self talking. Just needed to let you know!**

**Your POV**

Sakura had set up the sleeping bags and other necessary things in the lounge room for the team to sleep in. Naruto slept in a sleeping bag in the floor, next to the window. Sasuke's sleeping bag was in the middle of the room, and yours was next to it. Sadly you didn't bring your sleeping bag, and neither did Sasuke (I doubt he even has one), so Sakura's mother provided a mattress. A double mattress.

sigh... It gets annoying that you have to stick with Sasuke a lot, but sleeping next to him was too… awkward. So you asked if Sasuke could sleep on the couch and he agreed (The kiss was probably enough to handle ). So now, you were sleeping in a double mattress, all to yourself. You held the white necklace you wore. You truly missed Gaara.

You woke up the next morning. You tried to get up, but your body wouldn't budge. You opened your eyes and tried to move your arms. It wouldn't move. You turn around and found Sasuke hugging you. Hugging YOU. HUGGING you. He was sleeping in the same bed as you and was cuddling you! _OMGWTFBBQYMCA!! Why is Sasuke hugging me!!?? I thought he was sleeping on the couch…_ You thought. "Uchiha-san…" You mumbled. He kept his eyes closed.

"Nani?" He asked flatly.

"Why are you hugging me?" you asked.

"Because I felt like it." He said.

"I thought you were sleeping on the couch."

"Well, you thought wrong."

You sigh. "Let go of me." You commanded. "Yes ma'am." He joked. You looked over at the clock. 8:00am.

**

* * *

**

You were walking around Konoha with Team 7. Kakashi told the team that they were going to be in the Chuunin exams.

Oh joy.

The white necklace dangled around your neck. "Oh wow. Manami-chan, that's a really nice necklace." Naruto commented. "If you try to steal it, consider your life being over." You mumbled, venom dripping from your voice. Naruto gulped. You talked to Sakura whilst you were walking, then Konohamaru ran up to Naruto. "Naruto! Naruto! Wanna play with us?" He screamed. You sweatdropped. He was just like a mini-me of Naruto. "No thanks Konohamaru, I'm busy." Naruto replied. Konohamaru glanced at you and Sakura. "OHHHH I get it!! Those are your girlfriends! Well, that's just the type of thing I would expect from my boss!" Konohamaru said. "WHAT?!?!?" You and Sakura screamed. Then, Sakura started chasing Konohamaru. Konohamaru wasn't watching where he was going, so he bumped into a guy. He was wearing a black costume, purple paint all over his face. When you saw his headband, it had the sand village sign on it, so he must be from Suna. He grabbed Konohamaru by the collar. "Watch where you're going, kid!" He said. One other ninja was behind him. She had blonde hair and a huge fan. All of a sudden, a rock hit the guy who was holding Konohamaru. You found Sasuke sitting on a tree, juggling a rock in one hand. Then, a boy appeared on the tree. He had red hair and a huge sand gourd. "He looks so familiar…" You said to yourself. You noticed a red necklace hanging from the boy's neck. You gasped. "Could it be…?" You whispered. You walked up to the boy, who was still upside down on the tree.

"G…Gaara…?" You said. He looked at you. "Do I know you?" He said, almost coldly. "Are you Subaku No Gaara?" You asked. "Yes…" He said, not sure where this conversation was going. "It's me… Manami Hyuga…" You mumbled. Everyone else was quiet, listening to you and Gaara, even Sasuke was silent. "Hyuga…" Gaara whispered. He jumped off the tree and studied you face. It took him a while, but he finally realized. "Manami… The one who gave me the red necklace." He mumbled. You nodded. You clutched the white diamond around your neck. "I hope you've looked after the red necklace." You said, giving him a small smile. "I have." He said. You turned to Team 7. "Guys, this is my best friend… Subaku No Gaara." You said. Gaara introduced you to his siblings, Temari and Kankuro.

"Hey, Haruno-san, Uzumaki-san, Uchiha-san, I'm gonna hang out with Gaara-kun for the rest of the day. Jaa ne!" You said to your team. You headed off with Gaara and his siblings. Sasuke couldn't help but feel jealous.

**Gaara's POV**

You couldn't believe it. You were reunited with your childhood best friend. The one who wasn't afraid of you. The one who didn't detest you. The one who didn't run away.

_Wow… I don't believe it… She looks older! _You thought_**. Well, DUH you haven't seen her for six and a half years! OF COURSE SHE GOT OLDER!**_ _Good point… __**She's beautiful too**__…You shouldn't be thinking these things… __**But she's gotten curvier**__… NO! Stop it!! __**SHE'S DAMN HOT!! YOU CAN'T BACK OUT OF THAT ONE!! IT'S TRUE!! **__… I hate you. __**So you're saying that **__**you**__** hate **__**you**__**? … **__I still hate you…_ You thought.

You and Manami were in deep conversation, wanting to learn more about each other. Temari and Kankuro was behind the both of you, shocked to learn that their -rejected- lonely brother, had a friend… and it was a girl. "Hey, Gaara-kun, how are things in Suna?" She asked. "It's been the same… If you get what I mean" You replied. "I truly am happy to see you again; you're probably the only one that understands me…" She said. "I know." You mumbled. "So… Etou… Where are you guys staying during the exams?" She asked. "I don't know." You murmured. "Wanna stay at my place? I'm sure nii-san wouldn't mind." She said quietly. You were surprised at her offer; you thought she was the type of girl that would keep to herself. "S…Sure…" You whispered.

* * *

When you arrived at the Hyuga manor, Neji opened the door for Manami. He gave you a cold glare. _I guess he's protective about his sister… _You thought. "There are some spare rooms upstairs, make yourself at home…" She mumbled. Kankuro punched you lightly on the arm whispering in your ear, "Nice catch, Gaara" You rolled your eyes. You pick any random room, particularly the one nearest to Manami's room, although it didn't really matter; you don't sleep. You could tell which one was Manami's room because her name was engraved on the door; Neji had his door engraved too. "Gaara!" Temari called. You walked to her room and she motioned you to come inside. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend!" She said. "She's not my girlfriend." You mumbled. "Sure… whatever you say!" She scoffed. "But seriously, if I were to… perhaps… like her… do you think she would be the one for me?" You mumbled. Temari was surprised; you never turn to her for –somewhat- advice. Temari tried to act cool. "Sure, of course she could be the one for you! She's tons of fun and you're no fun at all; she completes you!" Temari joked. (Lol that line was from ice age) You gave her a scary glare and walked off.

**Temari's POV**

Kankuro entered you room just after Gaara left. "Did you hear that?" You asked him. "Yeah… Gaara's acting… differently." Kankuro said. "I know… and he actually turned to me for -somewhat- advice…" You stated. "D'ya think it could be that Hyuga chick?" Kankuro asked. "Who knows…? Manami-san could possibly change Gaara's life…"You mumbled.

**Your POV**

You went inside your room and took out a guitar case. Yes, you have a guitar. You wrote a few songs the year before, but since then, you haven't touched the guitar. You sat on the bed and began playing. To your surprise, your guitar skills were pretty good, even though you haven't played for a year. You smiled to yourself and decided to play a song that meant a lot to you.

When you walk away  
I count the steps that you take  
Do you see how much I need you right now?

Suddenly, your bedroom door clicked open. You looked up to find Gaara. You smiled. "Ohayo, Gaara-kun…" You said. "Hn" He said. You sweatdropped; he reminded you of Sasuke. You continued strumming the guitar. Gaara just watched you. You stopped. "Are you just going to stand there and watch me play?" You asked. He nodded. You smiled at him. You placed the guitar on your bed. "I'll feel awkward if you watch my every move." You mumbled. He gave you a questioning look, making you turn your head away in embarrassment. Gaara sat on the bed next to you. "What do you think of me?" Gaara asked. You looked at him, surprised. "E…Etou… You make me smile. You make me happy. I don't want to lose you… You're probably the only one who understands me… You're important to me…" You said wistfully. Gaara was surprised that he meant so much to you. You turned to him. "What do you think of me?" You asked. Gaara smirked.

"I like you. You're important to me as well, and since you're special to me, I've finally found what I want to protect…"

He leaned closer to you; and you could feel his warm breath on your skin. You blushed

"You…"

He kissed you softly on the lips, and then left the room.

_I guess that song I wrote was dedicated to Gaara-kun…_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Five: The Chuunin Exams Begin!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… TT-TT sigh**

**Your POV**

You woke up that morning earlier than everyone else (Of course except for Gaara… he has insomnia… poor kid…). You took a shower and walked down to prepare breakfast, this time it wasn't just for you, it was also for Gaara and his siblings. It was 6:00am. As soon as you finished cooking, you placed it on the table. You ate quietly. Then it hit you.

Today were the Chuunin Exams.

_Aw crap… Chuunin Exams are today… gotta wake up nii-san. _You thought. You ran up to your room and shook Neji rapidly. "Neji… Neji… Neji! NEJI!!!!!" You screamed. "Uh-Wha…?" Neji managed to mumble as he woke up. You shook him harder and he had swirls for eyes by now (Lol, it like the eyes of a pokemon when it's knocked out). Neji glared at you.

"NANI?!?!?!" He screamed.

"TODAY'S THE FRIGGIN CHUUNIN EXAMS!!" You screamed back.

"OMG I DIDN'T KNOW THAT!!" He screamed again.

"WELL NOW YOU KNOW!!"

"WHAT DO I DO!?!?!!!!"

"YOU CAN START BY GETTING READY!!!!!" You screamed, frustrated with the fact that you were having a scream-a-thon in the morning.

The bedroom door opened and you heard two exhausted voices. "Anou… (um)" You and Neji look at the door and screamed, "WHAT?!?!?!?" "We're trying to sleep…" Kankuro and Temari said. "Oh… okay then! Gomenasai! (Sorry)" You said nervously. You let go of Neji. "Breakfast is downstairs! Help yourselves… Etou… Where's Gaara-kun?" You asked timidly. "On the roof" Temari said flatly. Kankuro walked up to you and pulled you close to him. "WTF?!?" You screamed.

"You know, if Gaara isn't there for ya, there's always me to play with…" Kankuro said, trying to be seductive. You, Neji and Temari whacked him on the head… hard. You walk out of the room and head for the roof. Gaara was sitting there, silent. "You were here all night, weren't you?" You asked quietly. Gaara nodded. "Well, I just wanted to tell you, the Chuunin Exams are today, so… I was wondering… if you'd like to… perhaps… walk with me to my team." You mumbled. "Very well." Gaara murmured.

**--xx—**

On the way to the Chuunin Exams, you met BUSHY BROWS! "I am Rock Lee! Sakura I love you, please be my girlfriend and I shall protect you with my life!" He said. Then Sasuke got into a fight with Rock lee and got beaten up pretty badly… Then you met Maito Gai! Kakashi's rival and a bigger and scarier version of Rock Lee.

As soon as Sasuke entered the room, Ino glomped him. You smirked. "Yare, Yare (Oh boy)… I'll leave you alone with your stalkers." You said Sasuke. As you walked off, Sasuke grabbed you wrist. "Please don't leave me with the bakas (idiots)…" Sasuke pleaded. "What's this? The great Uchiha prodigy pleading to a Hyuga?" You joked. Sasuke playfully glared at you. "Fine, fine…" You mumbled.

The room was PACKED! You also saw the other Konoha Genin. You yawned. Boring. Everyone met some guy named Kabuto. You could feel some weird feeling… and it wasn't good. Kabuto had a bunch of cards, and it had information about everyone here.

You walked up to Gaara and whispered, "Gaara, he's a spy." "I know" He whispered back. Three sound ninja somehow got annoyed with Kabuto, so one of them punched him, and he puked. All of a sudden, a big POOF entered the room, and when the fog disappeared, you saw a few sentinels and the first exam proctor, Ibiki Morino.

**--xx—**

You were separated from your team as you sat down in the exam room. Gaara was sitting in the middle of the room, Sasuke was on one side of the room and you were on the other side. Sakura was sitting a few seats behind Naruto and Naruto was sitting next Hinata. You could see Hinata blushing madly. _Aw… Hinata-sama is so kawaii (cute) when she's around Naruto…_ You thought. You knew about her crush on Naruto, and you've kept it as a secret for years.

**--xx—**

Fifty-five minutes had passed. You sat in your seat, bored as hell. You finished writing the test after fifteen minutes. Yes, you're that smart. You could see the people around you struggling. You couldn't see what the hassle was for. You learnt stuff like this when you were five. All you had to do now was to answer question 10.

"Okay! The test is finished! Question 10 is a very dangerous question. Raise your arm now if you don't want to take the last question. An arm rose. "That's it, I'm OUT!" One person said. Other people raised their hands as well. It started a chain. It wasn't long until there was about 78 genin left. "Okay then… You all… PASS!!" Ibiki said. You were all left confused.

Then, a woman zoomed in the room. "MY NAME IS ANKO MITARASHI AND I'M THE SECOND EXAM PROCTOR!!" She said. Ibiki looked at her. "You're a bit early." She shrugged and looked at the remaining genin. She smirked. "78 genin? You let 27 teams pass?" She said. "You're going easy on them…" She mumbled. "OKAY MAGGOTS! You think that the Chuunin Exams are easy not that you've passed the first stage, but what's coming to ya is a lot harder!" Anko said. "FOLLOW ME!!" She walked out of the room, with everyone following.

As everyone filed out of the room, you caught up with both team 7 and the sand siblings. You smiled at Gaara. "How'd you do with the test?" You asked. "I did well…" He mumbled. "How about the rest of you?" You asked the rest. "It was hard." Kankuro said. "I agree." Sakura said. "Hn." Sasuke said. "They expect us to answer those hard questions…" Temari said. "I COULDN'T GET ONE ANSWER ON THE SHEET!!" Naruto screamed. You laughed. They looked at you. You stopped laughing. "Nani?" You asked. "You… laughed." Sakura murmured. You shrugged. "I guess you guys are starting to make me more… outgoing!" You said.

Sasuke and Gaara smirked. Sakura and Naruto smiled. Temari and Kankuro grinned. You smiled back at them. You were thankful that you had them, even though they're a bit strange. You said to them,

"Thank You"

* * *

_YAY!! Sorry chapter so shorrt!! Next chapter will be NICE NICE!!! Please review!! If you have any ideas, tell me!!! REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY!!!_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter Seven: Meet The Forest of Death! An Orochimaru Encounter!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**A/N:**

**NEW TECHNIQUE YOU SHALL DISCOVER IN THIS CHAPTER!! YAY!!**

**Your POV**

Everyone was waiting outside a huge, scary forest. "Whoa…" You whispered.

"Okay maggots! You have to fill out these forms and we'll give your team a scroll. There are two scrolls, the earth and heaven.

All of your team's forms shall be exchanged for a scroll. Exams begin in thirty minutes." Anko shouted.

Naruto began to complain, thinking that he's better than everyone else. Anko got angry and threw a kunai at him.

Naruto almost got hit, but he dodged just in time.

He had a cut on his cheek. Anko walked up to him and licked the blood off his cheek.

"It's people like you who lose all this precious blood…" Anko said.

A ninja from the rain gave Anko her kunai with her tongue. The ninja's tongue was stretched out, like a snake. Anko thanked her for the kunai.

Everyone was handed a form.

You hid behind a tree as you filled your form.

Sasuke joined you.

"Feeling lonely?" He asked.

You blush a bit and continue writing on your form.

Sasuke smirks. "How about you? Hiding from your fangirls?" You mumbled.

"Tch. They annoy me. So far, I think you're the one girl I've met that isn't annoying… and I like that." He said. You blush. "Etou… Arigatou…" You mumbled.

You stood and were about to walk away until Sasuke grabbed your wrist.

You gasp.

You were pulled close to Sasuke. "Listen Manami, I like you. A lot. Keep that in mind." He whispered in your ear. You blush insanely. He kissed you on the cheek and walked away.

You were left there, alone. Two boys have kissed you within one week. You shake it off and head to Naruto to give him the forms.

Before you could, you could see fangirls surrounding you, ready to fight you. You realized why.

"Their" Sasuke-kun kissed you. Not them.

They all charged at you. You smirked. You grabbed a kunai out and so did they. They all tried to throw their kunai at you at the same time. _The things they do for one guy…_ You sighed. You easily dodged all of their kunai. You caught all of them and dropped them on the floor. You smirked as the kunai began to levitate. The girls gasped and back away. You thought they were idiots if they couldn't see what was going on.

You attached chakra strings to the kunai.

You threw the kunai at them with the chakra strings still attached. They screamed. You stopped the kunai when it was about one inch away from their faces. "Bakas." You said. You dropped all of the kunai and turned around to hand in the form.

"Don't waste my time." You said to the girls.

Anko was watching behind the trees. She saw everything you did.

"Come out Anko. I know you're there." You mumbled.

_"This girl… she's amazing… especially at such a young age…" _Anko thought.

You laughed a bit. "Hehe… Nice one, Hyuga… You're really talented." Anko said.

You shrugged you shoulders.

"Where'd you learn to do puppet techniques?" Anko asked.

"I saw my best friend's brother doing puppet techniques so I decided to give it a try." You mumbled.

Anko nodded.

You walked away.

**--xx—**

Five minutes had passed since your team had entered the Forest of Death.

You could already hear horrifying screams of others.

You shuddered. You and team 7 jumped around the place until Naruto stopped.

You stopped as well as the others. "Daijobu ka Uzumaki-san?" You asked.

…

"I need to pee." Naruto said.

His remark gave everyone sweatdrops. Team 7 waited as Naruto did his business behind the bush.

Thirty seconds later, Naruto came back, but you knew it wasn't him.

You and Sasuke threw a kunai at him.

Naruto got mad. Sakura gasped. "Why the hell did you do that for!?" Naruto screamed.

"You're not Naruto…" Sasuke smirked.

"Prove it!" Naruto said.

Sasuke began, "One: Naruto's kunai pouch is on the right, but yours is on the left and Two:—"

"The cut Anko gave you earlier is gone." You mumbled. Sasuke glanced at you and smirked.

The fake Naruto turns into a guy you didn't recognize.

"Who are you?" You asked, getting ready to fight.

"I'm the one who is going to kill you all." The guy smirked.

He ran up to you and pinned you to a tree.

"Such a shame… to kill someone as pretty as you." He remarked.

You slowly smirked and started laughing quietly. The guy looks at you confused. "What are you laughing at?" He asked.

You disappeared and reappeared behind him.

"This." You whispered in his ear.

You grabbed a kunai and _**you**_ pinned _**him**_ to the tree.

He gasped. "I don't like people who waste my time." You whispered.

Sasuke saw an instant change in you. You became from quiet, anti-social girl to skilled, mean killer when you're in a battle.

You held the kunai to his neck, ready to slit his throat. The guy whimpered. You snickered. You lowered the kunai.

"I'm giving you one chance. One chance _**only.**_ I'm feeling merciful today." You growled. You let go of him and he ran away from your team. You received a confused look from Sakura.

Naruto came out of the bushes. "Hey guys, did I miss anything?' He asked. You laughed to yourself.

"Iie (No) (Pronounced as: eee-eh), Uzumaki-san. You didn't miss anything." You said.

You all sat in a circle. "Okay, we need to make some sort of password up, just in case we get separated… and in case it's not really us." Sasuke said.

"What should it be?" Sakura asked.

"It's a poem, it goes like this…" Sasuke began.

You couldn't bother to listen to Sasuke right now. You felt this strange aura. It was similar to the feeling you had to Kabuto, but much worse. You didn't like it.

Sasuke noticed you glancing around. "Manami, are you okay?" He asked. You looked at him and slowly nodded. He was about to start talking about the plan until he was interrupted with your voice.

"MOVE!!" You screamed.

You pushed Sakura and Naruto backwards as you pulled Sasuke to your side. The team wasn't in a circle anymore. The team was separated.

Before Naruto could start complaining, an explosion was set off. You were breathing heavily. If you hadn't moved the others, they would've gotten hurt by the explosion. You grabbed Sasuke's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"You okay?" You asked.

Sasuke was wide-eyed. "Y-yeah…" He mumbled.

"How'd you know that that was going to happen?" He asked.

"I could sense the explosion tag." You simply said.

Naruto was about to run up to both of you until Sasuke stopped him.

"What's the password?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto recited it _**perfectly**_.

Sasuke threw a kunai at him. "What was that for?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto would've never memorized the password, no matter what." Sasuke said.

'Naruto' transformed back into its original form.

It was that rain ninja earlier. The one who help Anko with her kunai.

You could sense bad chakra from this ninja.

The woman laughed maniacally.

You stood there frozen like everyone else.

"Seems like I've got you all frozen…" The woman said.

She summoned a huge snake.

You gasped

Sakura gasped.

Even Sasuke gasped.

The snake started to attack your team. Sasuke was the one who had to deal with it the most.

Sasuke was getting pretty beaten up. The snake was about to land the finishing blow until Naruto arrived and fought the snake as well.

"You didn't get hurt, did you scardey cat?" Naruto growled.

"Urusai! (Shut up) BAKA!! (Idiot)" Sasuke screamed.

The snake kept attacking until Naruto got knocked out.

Naruto was on a tree, hanging from a kunai.

Sasuke was cornered.

Sakura was pretty much helpless.

You decided to make sure that Sasuke doesn't die.

The rain ninja began to take off something on this face.

Her… or _**His**_ face turned out to be a mask.

"O…Orochimaru…" You stuttered.

"Oh? It seems I'm still known in this village…" Orochimaru chuckled.

[Flashback

_You were five years old and were officially a genin. _

_"Hokage-sama? You called for me?" You said as you entered his office._

_"Hai. I want to talk to you." He said_

_You stepped forward._

_"Manami, since you are now officially a genin, I have kept this information for you because you are very powerful, correct?" The hokage said._

_You nodded slowly._

_"I want you to be careful of Orochimaru because he is after powerful ninja… that includes you. Orochimaru has killed many people and I don't want that to happen to you" He said._

_"Hai…" You said._

_"Manami, I must protect you. I know that you have a beast within you, and if you turn to Orochimaru, you will kill many people." The hokage said._

_You nodded._

_"I understand, Hokage-sama… I'll make sure that he doesn't hurt anyone." You mumbled._

[End of flashback

You couldn't believe it.

Orochimaru is actually here.

The one who took the lives of people.

Orochimaru was about to give Sasuke the cursed seal bite, but you disappeared and reappeared in front of Sasuke.

You took the bite instead.

Orochimaru only chuckled.

"It seems like a girl wants to join me as well…" He said.

Sasuke held you in his arms as you fell.

"I have room for another…" Orochimaru said.

He bit Sasuke too.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

Orochimaru chuckled.

"SASUKE-KUN!! MANAMI-SAN!!" Sakura screamed.

Orochimaru took the scroll and _**literally**_ ate it.

You and Sasuke screamed in pain.

You collapsed and fell into Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke collapsed as well.

You now had to suffer the pain of having a demon inside you and having the cursed seal.

You called him by his first name for the first time.

"Gomen (Sorry), Sasuke…" You mumbled.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter Eight: Anger-Filled Mayhem!! The Uncontrollable seal**_

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO**

Your POV

You slowly woke up, realizing what just happened.

You found yourself in a hollow tree stump, with Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura.

Sakura was slowly drifting to sleep until she shot her eyes open.

She breathed heavily.

"Nightmare?" You asked quietly.

She looked at you.

"H-hai… Daijobu desu ka?" Sakura asked.

You sat up.

"Un… (Yeah)" You nodded.

You winced and took hold of your neck.

"Itai… (Ow)" You whispered.

You looked at your surroundings.

It was morning; probably around 6 in the morning.

Sasuke and Naruto were lying beside you; separately of course.

They were unconscious.

"Ano… Haruno-san, how long have we been here?" You asked.

"Erm… A whole night. Also, please, just call me Sakura." She replied.

"Hai… Sakura…" You smiled at her.

She smiled back.

"Ne, Sakura, what do you do if you like someone and you liked them back, but there's another person you like and they also like you back…?" You asked rather quickly.

She looked confused for a second, but understood.

"Well, I would think… which one means more to me… or… something like that…" Sakura said.

You nodded.

"Why? Is there someone you like… or _**two**_ that you like?" She said slyly.

You shook our head madly.

"Iie! I don't like… anybody…" You mumbled.

"Right, right… I totally believe you, Manami-san." Sakura said sarcastically.

**--xx—**

A few hours had passed and you helped Sakura look after Sasuke and Naruto.

It was 12pm.

You leaned on the wall of the tree stump.

Sakura set a trap outside.

You heard someone approaching.

"Sakura…" You whispered.

Sakura nodded and took a kunai out.

A squirrel was the only thing to be seen.

Sakura threw the kunai near it so that it wouldn't trigger the trap.

It ran away but this time, three sound ninja came and jumped so they weren't in the trap.

"You know the grass around here is native." A guy said.

He smirked and cut the string.

"We're here to take both the Uchiha and the Hyuga." Another guy said.

"No way" Sakura glared.

They got angry.

"And why not?" He asked.

You were about to take a kunai out until you saw a familiar figure appearing in front of you and Sakura.

"Who are you?" The guy asked.

"I am the handsome devil of the Hidden Leaf. I am Rock Lee." Lee said, getting ready to fight.

"Lee-san…" Sakura whispered.

"I will protect the both of you with my life." He said.

You could see a slight tint of pink on Sakura's cheeks.

He began to fight with the sound ninja, but the next thing you knew, Lee was laying on the ground with blood coming out of his ear.

"Lee!" You shouted.

You ran to his side, trying to heal his wound.

Sakura threw kunai and shuriken at the sound ninja, but got caught.

The female sound ninja grabbed Sakura's hair and pulled it.

Tears were streaming down Sakura's face.

"Sakura!" You screamed.

Sakura got a kunai and cut her hair off.

You were shocked.

You got really angry now.

You stood up and winced.

The cursed seal spread around half of your body.

Your neck was hurting like hell.

You disappeared and reappeared behind the female ninja and stabbed her in the back.

"Ugh!" She winced.

Before she could land a hit on you, you disappeared and reappeared behind the male ninja that hurt Lee.

He stabbed you instead.

He got the kunai and stabbed it in your stomach.

You screamed in pain and coughed out blood.

Sakura started to fight.

She landed on the guy who stabbed you earlier and bit his wrist.

He started to punch her, making her bruised on her head.

"Kin!" The remaining male ninja shouted.

'Kin' nodded.

She turned out to be the female sound ninja.

She took out a bunch of needles and threw all of them at you.

You couldn't dodge them; there were too many of them.

They all cut you.

They hit your arms, your face, you legs and your stomach.

You were on the ground now, gasping for air.

All of a sudden, Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji jump out of the bushes.

"Sakura! Take care of your team!" Ino said.

Sakura nodded and limped over to you.

"Manami-san!" She said.

You winced and tried to get up, but couldn't.

Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji ended up fighting the sound ninja, until you felt a strange chakra behind you.

You turned around.

It was Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" You said.

Black and purple chakra was swirling around him, and you didn't like it.

The curse seal had spread around his body.

"Ino! Let's get out of here!" Shikamaru said.

"Manami, Sakura, Who did this to you?" Sasuke asked.

"I did" The guy said, whilst smirking.

He was about to blast Sasuke with his air pressure, but Sasuke appeared next to him and punched him really hard.

Sasuke grabbed the guy's arms behind his back.

"You take a lot of pride in these arms don't you? You'll probably be useless without them…" Sasuke smirked.

The guy gasped.

"Wait! You're not gonna—"

He screamed in pain as Sasuke broke his arms.

The guy collapsed.

There was only one remaining ninja left.

"Now, to handle you…" Sasuke growled.

You gasped.

You hated seeing death in front of your own eyes.

"Sasuke!" You shouted.

You managed to get up to your feet, wincing as the blood seeped through your stomach.

Sasuke slowly walked to the sound ninja.

You ran up to him, tears steaming down your eyes.

You hugged him.

You held him close to your body, as if he were to die any time sooner.

"Sasuke… please… stop…" You cried.

Sasuke glanced at you.

He sighed.

The cursed seal was returning back to normal now.

He grunted and collapsed.

You caught him.

Your tears were still flowing.

Sasuke looked up at you.

"Manami…" He whispered.

You nodded and hugged him.

"Please… don't do that again…" You whispered in his ear.

He nodded and wiped a tear off your cheek.

Then, he slowly fell asleep.

You sighed quietly.

"NANII!?!?!??!?!?" Sakura and Ino screamed.

You looked towards them.

"Are?" You mumbled.

Both of the fangirls ran up to you and yelled in your face.

"WHY DID YOU HUG SASUKE?!??!?" Sakura screamed.

"WHY DIDN'T HE DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT?!?!" Ino screamed.

"WHY DOESN'T HE DO THAT TO US??!?!?!?!!?!?" They both cried.

You shrugged.

"I dunno… I guess he likes me more than both of you." You mumbled.

Both of them dropped their mouths open.

"Well, Manami, Is he your new boyfriend or something?" A voice said.

You looked up at the trees and found Neji smirking, with Tenten smiling at you.

"YOU GUYS ARE SOOO KAWAII TOGETHER!" Tenten cried.

"HEY! You're supposed to protect my sister from being with Sasuke, NOT. ENCOURAGING. HER!!" Neji yelled.

"Gomen Neji!!!" Tenten said.

Neji jumped down and landed next to you.

He glanced at your stomach.

"Hey, you don't look so well—HEYYYY OH MY GOD!!!!!!! MY SISTER IS GONNA DIE!!! YOUR STOMACH IS BLEEDING OH MY GOD!!!!!!" Neji screamed.

You winced and took a bandage out of your pouch.

You wrapped it around your stomach.

You looked around and found a scroll sitting on the ground.

It was the scroll that you needed to pass the second exam.

You walked to the scroll and picked it up.

"Seems like the sound ninja left this for us…" You mumbled.

You kept the scroll in your pouch and decided to wake up Naruto.

When you reached him, he was sleep talking; Shikamaru and Chouji were also trying to wake him up.

"I almost forgot about him…" You said.

"Sakura… -chan… must… save…." Naruto mumbled.

You giggled a bit.

"Naruto-kun, wake up, Sakura's… anou… in trouble." You said.

"NANI?!? WHERE IS SHE?!?!?!?" Naruto screamed, waking up instantly.

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun, she's fine." You said.

"N-Naruto-kun?" He mumbled.

"You just called me Naruto-kun…" He said.

"Hai, it seems like you guys are becoming closer to me now." You said.

Naruto grinned and glanced at Sakura.

"AHHH SAKURA-CHAN YOUR HAIR!!! IT'S ALL… SHORT!!!" Naruto cried.

Sakura nodded sadly.

You sighed as you walked over to Sasuke.

"Who's gonna carry sleeping beauty?" You mumbled.

"MEE!!!!" Sakura and Ino cried.

They ran up to Sasuke and started screaming things like: "Kyah!" or "Sasuke-kun!"

You saw Sasuke groan slightly at the sound of the two annoying fangirls.

"There's no way I would let you two carry him" You mumbled.

"Why not?" They asked.

"You might sexually harass him." You said flatly.

"No we're… not…" They both said, feeling quite nervous.

"I'm carrying him. No one else wants to." You mumbled.

Sakura and Ino began whining and complaining.

You grabbed Sasuke's arm and wrapped it around your shoulders.

You placed your other hand on his waist.

Neji gave Sasuke a glare, even if he was unconscious.

**--xx—**

A few hours had passed, and the other teams had left because they needed the extra scroll.

You, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke rested beside a small stream.

You woke Sasuke up as soon as you reached there.

You and Sakura started a fire and Naruto tried to catch some fish with Sasuke.

From the way Sakura was acting, she probably hated you for hugging Sasuke.

Sasuke and Naruto caught four fish.

As the fish were being cooked, Sasuke said he'd get some clean water.

"Manami, come with me." He said.

You were startled, but nodded.

Sakura got annoyed with you.

As you stood up, she burst.

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!! WHY DOES SASUKE HAVE TO CHOOSE YOU **EVERY** TIME, MANAMI?!?!? SASUKE SHOULD BE WITH ME!!!" She screamed.

Your bangs covered your eyes, so that no one could tell your emotion.

Sasuke glared at her.

"Sakura…" He began.

Sakura calmed down.

"You're annoying." He said coldly.

You gasped quietly.

When you saw Sakura's face, you could tell that her heart was broken.

He took hold of your hand and walked away with you.

"Sasuke-kun, what you did to Sakura broke her heart…" You mumbled.

"Gomenasai Manami, but I only have feelings for one girl." He said.

He squeezed your hand.

You nodded.

**--xx—**

You and Sasuke walked back to the stream with a clean bottle of water.

As both of you were a few meters away from the stream, you found Naruto and Sakura about to open the scroll.

You were about to stop them until Kabuto appeared.

Kabuto stopped them from opening the scroll instead.

Sasuke threw a kunai at Kabuto.

"Sasuke stop!" You said.

You ran to Naruto and Sakura.

"Naruto-kun, Sakura, what were you thinking, trying to open the scroll without us around?" You said.

"Gomenasai Manami-chan…" Naruto mumbled.

**--xx—**

With the help of Kabuto, team 7 managed to arrive at the tower safely.

You still felt a little weird when Kabuto's around, but you decided to trust Kabuto, for now.

You turned to him.

"Anou… Arigatou gozaimashita (thank you very much) Kabuto." You said, as you bowed to him.

When you went inside, you, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke opened both the scrolls and with a big "Poof" Iruka appeared.

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto said.

"Congratulations, team 7, you have passed the second exam." He said.

"YATTA (Yay) I DID IT!!!!" Naruto screamed.

_How can Naruto get so much energy after we just finished getting out o the Forest Of Death?_ Sakura, Sasuke and you thought.

**--xx—**

The genin who had passed the second exam were lined up.

Nearly everyone that you knew was there.

The hokage was there as well, along with all the sensei.

"Since there are too many of you, we must have preliminary matches before we can continue on with the third exam." He said.

Everyone was shocked.

"If there is anyone who isn't able to fight, please raise your arm and leave the room." He said.

You and Sasuke glanced at each other, knowing that the cursed seal will probably prevent both of you to fight.

No one else raised their arm.

Anko yelled,

"Okay, let the preliminaries begin!"

* * *

_YAY! Chapter eight is finished_

_Gomenasai if it took too long!_

_Sorry if the scenes aren't correct, you see, I have a rusty memory of the chuunin exams!! _

_By the way, Kabuto-kun didn't get out JUST YET!! _

_I need him to be in the preliminaries so that YOU can fight HIM!!_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter Nine: The Preliminaries**_

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN NARUTO!!**

**A/N:**

**Okies… I KNOW THAT YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN!! You know who wins in the preliminary rounds!! I have a rusty memory since I'm up to Shippuuden! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!! So for this I won't be putting all of the fighting in writing, I mean… what's the point? You all know who wins. I REPEAT:**

**I WILL NOT BE TYPING DOWN WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FIGHTS (except for your fight)!!**

**CHANGE OF POINT OF VIEW!! FROM NOW ON I WILL BE SAYING "I" INSTEAD OF "you" I am sooo sorry!! You must think I'm the crappiest writer EVERR! TT-TT**

**Manami's POV**

"Let the preliminaries begin!" Anko yelled.

Everyone took a spot upstairs.

I leaned against the rail and watched the giant computer randomize some names.

It stopped and it said:

**SASUKE UCHIHA**

**VS.**

**YOROI AKADA**

Sasuke turned around to walk downstairs, but before he could, I grabbed hold of his shirt.

Sasuke looked at me.

"Hm?" He said.

I studied him for a moment and smirked.

"Good luck" I said.

He smirked back and jumped downstairs.

**--xx—**

Sasuke finished his battle.

It was over within fifteen minutes.

"Uchiha Sasuke wins the round." The proctor said.

Sasuke went upstairs, breathing heavily.

I smirked at him once again.

"I knew you could do it" I mumbled.

He nodded and leaned against the wall.

Kakashi walked over to me and mumbled,

"Once your battle is over, you and Sasuke will be coming with me. It's about the cursed mark."

My eyes went wide.

_How did he know?_ I thought.

I looked towards the computer.

I really didn't want to fight right now.

I didn't really care about becoming a chuunin anyway.

The screen stopped and said:

**MANAMI HYUGA**

**VS.**

**KABUTO YAKUSHI**

"Hoorah." I mumbled sarcastically.

I jumped down and leaned against the wall.

Kabuto jumped down.

"Begin!" The proctor said.

I sighed lazily and walked towards Kabuto.

He ran up to me and was about to punch.

His fist was inches away from my face.

I grabbed Kabuto's fist.

He gasped.

My face was emotionless.

"Gomenasai, Kabuto-san… I'm not in the mood for fighting." I mumbled.

I crushed his fist with my hand.

He grunted in pain.

I took out a kunai.

I was about to stab him, but he punched me with his other hand.

His other hand had heaps of chakra in it.

Kabuto smirked.

He punched me more and I coughed out blood.

He punched me around my heart and I fell on the floor, blood staining my mouth.

"Manami…" I heard Gaara and Sasuke whisper.

Kabuto was about to give a hard punch, but I dodged by disappearing.

He was confused, he looked around, but he couldn't find me.

I took out my fire bow and arrows.

I aimed and shot him on the leg.

He screamed in pain.

I reappeared next to him and clicked I fingers once.

The fire on his leg had vanished.

I had a kunai to his neck.

"Gomenasai, Kabuto-san." I mumbled.

I slowly raised my arm.

"I, Manami Hyuga, surrender from this preliminary round." I said.

Nearly everyone in the room gasped.

Kabuto also raised his arm.

"Me too, I don't feel like fighting in this exam… I think I… can't fight properly anyway." Kabuto uttered.

The proctor only coughed and allowed both of us to surrender.

I sighed again and slowly walked upstairs.

Naruto came running over to me.

"That was really cool MANAMI-CHAN!!" He yelled.

"Arigato" I mumbled.

I looked over to Kakashi.

He nodded.

Me, Sasuke and Kakashi walked out.

He brought me and Sasuke to this dark room.

"I'm going to seal what the cursed mark" Kakashi said.

"Sasuke, you're up first." He said.

I sat down, leaning on a pillar.

Sasuke sat down in the middle of this circle with kunai surrounding it. It also had some writing probably written in blood.

"You're gonna have to take off your shirt, Sasuke." Kakashi mumbled.

He took off his shirt, revealing his abs, making him seem more beautiful, hot, gorgeous and irresistible…

OH.

MY.

GOD!

He smirked, knowing that I was blushing by then.

I looked away.

Kakashi wrote some letters on Sasuke's back and did some hand signs.

Sasuke was screaming in pain.

Five minutes later, Kakashi finished sealing it.

Sasuke didn't pass out, but was in a lot of pain.

Kakashi carried him and put him next to me.

I woke him up.

I smiled slowly.

"You'll be alright." I said.

He nodded and put his shirt back on.

I sat in the middle of the circle.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to take off your shirt too, Manami." Kakashi mumbled.

I sighed.

I took my shirt off slowly.

I could've sworn Sasuke had a nosebleed, or maybe he was just blushing…

DON'T THINK WRONG!!

I was wearing a bra.

Sasuke smirked, trying to act cool, but he couldn't hide his blush.

"Nice bra, Hyuga." Sasuke muttered.

I blushed.

WHY??

WHY DID I HAVE TO WEAR MY FAVORITE BRA?!?!?

Oh. My favourite bra?

Yeah, it's really nice.

It's one of those lacy bras, but it was black!!

NO ONE CAN RESIST BLACK!!

Okay, except for one of those girly-girls.

Heh, a lacy black bra and Sasuke was staring at it.

"Hey Uchiha, my eyes are up here." I said, pointing to my eyes.

Sasuke looked away.

Kakashi did the hand signs once again and began.

I gasped.

I screamed.

I cried.

I couldn't handle this pain.

Obviously Sasuke could handle it because he's got that strong body…

And those muscles…

And those damn fine ABS!!

HOLY CRAP! STAY FOCUSED.

After five minutes, the pain had stopped.

Kakashi crouched down and wiped my tears.

"Daijobu? You probably had more pain because of the demon. It seems like it doesn't like others chakra." Kakashi said.

I nodded and put my top back on.

"Demon?" Sasuke questioned.

Kakashi turned to Sasuke.

"Oh. I almost forgot about you." He said.

Sasuke frowned.

"Anyways, you two can head out now." Kakashi said.

Sasuke and me nodded and left the room.

I didn't feel the need of going back into the preliminary room, I enjoyed being out side.

"So… do you mind telling me why Kakashi mentioned something about a demon?" Sasuke asked.

I glanced at him and sighed.

"I guess I'll tell you… you're probably gonna find out sooner or later." I mumbled.

Sasuke nodded, wanting to know the answers.

"First, let's go to the ramen bar. I'm sort of hungry." I said.

"The ramen bar?"

**--xx—**

"…And that's the whole story about me and that two-tailed demon." I said.

"Oh… I didn't know that you were suffering for so long… Now I know why you wanted me to walk you to your brother." Sasuke said.

"Anou… Please don't breathe a word about this to anyone." I mumbled.

"I know. I'll keep it a secret." He said.

I was sitting at the ramen bar with Sasuke; and we both finished a bowl and began to walk around.

"Sasuke-kun… are you really serious about liking me? I didn't know that you could love after that thing… with your… family…" I mumbled.

Sasuke nodded sadly.

"I didn't know that I could fall for you. It just… happened." He mumbled.

"Wow. That great Uchiha prodigy is in love with none other than me. Oh joy." I joked.

"Very funny." He said.

I stopped and leaned against a cherry blossom tree.

"Sasuke-kun, thank you." I mumbled.

He smirked.

"Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you." He said, cupping his ear, _**pretending**_ to have hard hearing.

"I said Thank you." I said a bit louder.

"Huh? I didn't get that."

"Thank you."

"Hm?"

"Thank you!" I said, nudging him a bit.

He chuckled and apologized.

"Sorry, but its fun to mess with you." He said whilst ruffling my hair.

"It's okay, but really…" I began.

I pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you so much for everything you've done."

He blushed slightly, but he hugged me back, smiling softly.

"No problem." He whispered.

**--xx—**

I sat at home, watching the television.

Neji was preparing dinner for me, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara and himself.

"Neji-nii, who won in the preliminaries?" I asked.

"Shino, Kankuro, Temari, Shikamaru, Naruto… surprisingly… Gaara, some Dosu guy and me." Neji grumbled.

"Why the long face?" I asked.

"I fought with Hinata… and I beat her, but everyone cared about her. Just because she's part of the freaking main branch." He said.

"Neji-nii, I know you dislike the main branch, but you've gotta accept it someday, daddy died, and maybe, just maybe, Hinata's father didn't kill daddy." I mumbled.

"I don't know how you can accept that but I must avenge my father!" He said.

"Careful there, you're starting to sound like Sasuke." I said.

"Oh. Right. By the way, are you two together or something? You seem to hang around each other a lot." He asked.

"Neji-nii, One: We have a lot in common Two: We're in the same team and Three: Well… I'm still thinking up number three. Besides, I don't tease you about you and Ten-chan." I pointed out.

"I am not teasing you and Tenten and I have nothing to do with each other except for being in the same team." He grumbled.

I shrugged and walked upstairs to congratulate Gaara.

I gently knocked on his door.

"Gaara-kun?" I said.

I slightly opened his door.

He wasn't there.

_Maybe he's on the roof_ I thought.

I checked the roof.

He was there.

"Gaara-kun." I said.

Gaara looked towards me.

I smiled softly at him.

I sat down next to him.

"Congratulations on winning the preliminary rounds, Gaara-kun." I said.

"Arigato" He mumbled.

"Who did you fight against?" I asked.

"Rock Lee." He replied.

"Did he get hurt?" I was getting worried.

"Yes… I hurt him very badly."

"What did you do to hurt him?"

"Sand coffin."

"He didn't die did he?"

"No. But his left arm and leg are crushed."

"Oh…" I whispered.

I was worried about Lee; after all he did fight for a member of my team.

"Ne, Gaara-kun, I wish you so much luck for the third exam." I said.

He nodded.

"And for good luck…" I said.

I leaned closer to him.

"I'll give you this…"

I kissed him on the cheek and left the roof.

I left him blushing.

**--xx—**

Neji called us for dinner.

We all sat and ate in silence.

"So… uh… Congrats for um… Winning the preliminaries guys!" I said, _**trying**_ to make a conversation.

"Thanks Manami-san!" Temari and Kankuro said.

I smiled and nodded.

It was pretty awkward after that.

The sand siblings finished their dinner, and went upstairs.

I helped Neji wash the dishes.

"Ne, Neji-nii, are you gonna go to the third exam tomorrow?" I asked.

"No, the third exam is in about three months. They said that we can train in that time." He said.

"Great!" I said, smiling.

"What's so great?" He asked.

"It means I can hang out with my friends!" I said.

"And by friends, you mean Sasuke and Gaara?" He mumbled.

"Yes, but I have other friends other than Sasuke-kun and Gaara-kun." I said.

"Honto Ni (Really)? Who might that be?" He smirked.

"Well… There's Naruto-kun!" I argued.

"You hardly talk to him." He replied.

"Yeah, but there's also Hinata-sama!" I said.

"You know that I don't like you hanging out with her." He grumbled.

"You're not the boss of me!" I said.

"Admit it Manami, YOU'RE ONLY FRIENDS ARE SASUKE AND GAARA!" He chuckled.

"I have more friends than you!" I remarked.

His smile faded away.

"Touché" He mumbled.

I held up a peace sign and said, "VICTORY!!"

I splashed him with a bit of water and bubbles, and then we ended up having a water fight in the kitchen.

**--xx—**

"Ah… the fun times we have together!" I said.

"Yeah, but now we're both soaking wet." Neji said.

"You could always have a shower, baka." I mumbled.

"Don't call your older brother an idiot." He said.

"Yes, _**master**_." I grumbled.

"I'm taking the shower first." Neji said.

"NO. I'm taking the shower first." I said.

"But why…?" He questioned.

"Because you'll take ages to wash your hair, Neji-nii" I said.

"Fine, fine. You go first." Neji mumbled.

I smiled, hugged him and took a shower.

I entered the bathroom and began to take my clothes off.

First my top…

Then my shorts…

I unclipped my bra until I heard a clicking noise…

Like a door that just… opened…

LIKE A DOOR THAT JUST OPENED!!!

I turned around and found Kankuro's face beet red.

"KANKURO-KUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed.

Neji came running to the bathroom.

"Manami!! What's wrong?!?!?" He yelled.

He noticed that my bra was unclipped.

I was still wearing it on, though.

He blushed as well.

"NEJI-NIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed.

Temari came running to the bathroom.

"What has my idiotic brother done—" She said.

She saw my bra.

"Whoa. What size are you?" She asked.

"TEMARI-SAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed.

Gaara calmly walked to the bathroom.

"What's all this fuss abou—?"

…

"Oh." He said.

"GAARAAAA-KUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed.

Yes, I was still wearing my favourite bra and underwear.

All black too.

I (finally) grabbed a towel and covered myself up.

"WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE?!?!? GET OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed.

I pushed all of them out and _**locked **_the door this time.

"How can I forget to lock the door?!?! GOD I AM SUCH AN IDIOT!" I said to myself.

I took off my bra and underwear, and took a nice, warm shower.

I went outside with a towel wrapped around my body and changed in my room.

After I finished, I checked outside.

Kankuro…

Was…

Peeking…

"KANURO-HENTAII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed yet again.

I cracked my knuckles.

He backed away slowly, but he still had a nosebleed.

"Baka Ja Nai? (Are you Stupid?) Peeking at a girl… it's the most ridiculous this I've ever heard of…" I hissed.

I punched him hard on the stomach and cried.

I felt _**exposed**_.

"That's so mean!!" I cried.

I ran into Gaara's room and found him looking out the window.

"Gaara-kun!!" I cried.

I ran to him and hugged him.

I still had tears streaming down my face.

He saw my tears.

"Daijobu?" He asked.

"Your brother… was… peeking at me!!" I cried.

"WHAT?!?!?" He yelled.

"KANKURO-TEME! HOW DARE YOU PEEK AT MY BEST FRIEND'S BODY!!" Gaara screamed.

Wow… I didn't expect him to scream… nor defend for me.

I wiped all my tears up.

"Don't worry Gaara-kun. I'll make sure that he pays…" I grinned slyly.

He sighed.

"Alright…" He mumbled.

"Ne, Gaara-kun? You wanna hang out with me tomorrow?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Great! My other friend will come too!" I smiled softly.

I hugged him and said goodnight.

I picked up the phone and rung my friend.

_"Hello?"_

"Sasuke-kun, it's me, Manami"

_"Manami! Oh… uh.. Hi."_

"You don't seem very happy to talk to me." I mumbled.

_"No! I'm grateful to hear your voice Manami." _

"Great! That means that you can hang out with me tomorrow with my best friend!"

_" I'd be happy to accompany you tomorrow."_

"Tomorrow morning, meet me in front of the Hokage's building."

_"Okay… Goodnight, Manami… chan…" _

"Chan? Wow… you must really like me."

I heard Sasuke chuckle.

_"I guess so…"_

"Goodnight, Sasuke-kun…"

* * *

YAY!! Please Review!! THEY MAKE ME SOO HAPPY!! Also, hentai means pervert!! XD and Teme means something like bastard! XDD

REQUESTING YOUR HELP!!

Do you want to end up with Sasuke-kun or Gaara-kun?? TELL ME BY THE REVIEWS!!


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter Ten: A day out with the guys**_

**Manami's POV**

I woke up earlier than expected.

6:00am

I did my morning routine anyway.

I prepared breakfast and found Gaara on the roof (again).

"Gaara-kun, let's go." I said.

After we ate breakfast, we waited outside the Hokage's building.

It was around 8:00am.

I saw Sasuke walking to the Hokage's building.

I waved at him and as soon as he saw my face, he began running over to me.

I smiled at him and turned to Gaara.

"As you know Sasuke-kun, this is Gaara-kun, my best friend." I said.

"Yeah, I know who he is." Sasuke growled.

"Why, don't you like him?" I asked sadly.

"He's the one I'm gonna fight at the third exam." Sasuke replied.

Gaara smirked.

I gasped.

"But then…" I whispered.

"Don't worry about it Manami, let's enjoy this day." Sasuke said.

I nodded and smiled at both of the guys.

I took hold of Sasuke and Gaara's hands and began to stroll around Konoha.

**--xx—**

It had been two full hours and I ate some food, trained a bit and tried to fight off Sasuke's fangirls.

Those fangirls are really annoying…

I kept walking around and the next thing I noticed was that I was being attacked by a fangirl.

"GET OFF MY SASUKE-KUN!!! OH, SASUKE-KUN, HOW I LOVE YOU SO…" The fangirl screamed.

"Get off YOU LITTLE WITCH!!" I screamed.

I took out a kunai and she started backing away slowly.

We walked for a while until we sat some near a lake.

I smiled and enjoyed the view.

I turned around to the guys.

They were glaring at each other.

"Hey guys, want me to get something for you? I mean, I did drag you all the way out here…" I said.

Sasuke smirked.

"Now that you mention it, I'm feeling a bit thirsty…" Sasuke mumbled.

I nodded.

"I'll get you a drink. You and Gaara should just sit here and wait." I said.

They nodded and I left.

**Sasuke's POV**

"Gaara, you do know that she likes me, right? I suggest that you back off" I hissed.

"What do you know?" Gaara mumbled.

I threw a kunai at him.

He dodged it, of course.

I appeared next to him.

"Why don't you just give up!?!" I yelled.

"You should know that I don't give up easily. Take Rock Lee for example. I got hurt by him, so I crushed his arm and leg." He mumbled.

I grabbed him by the shirt and shook him.

"Who do you think you are?!?" I said.

I got a kunai out and got ready to stab his shoulder, but sand blocked it.

"What…?" I whispered.

Gaara smirked.

I jumped away and tried to hit him from afar.

I threw a kunai at him and was close to him, but the kunai stopped.

It stopped in midair.

"Huh?" I said.

Someone caught the kunai in midair.

It was Manami.

"Manami!" I said.

I jumped down.

She gave me the most heart-breaking face I've seen.

"How could you…?" She whispered.

I tried to fix things up.

"Manami, I—"

"No, Sasuke-kun, you tried to hurt my best friend…" She said.

"But I—"

"Why would you want to hurt him?" She simply asked.

"Because… I'm… jealous of him…" I mumbled.

"But why?" She asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked sadly.

She looked confused for a moment.

"Manami Hyuga. I've fallen in love with you." I said.

She blushed slightly.

"You can go home now, Sasuke-kun. I don't feel like going out anymore…" She mumbled.

She turned around and walked away.

"Nice going, Uchiha." Gaara mumbled.

He turned and followed Manami.

"I'm so sorry Manami…" I whispered.

**Manami's POV**

I turned around and walked away.

I'm so confused.

What's a girl supposed to do in this situation?

I saw Gaara catching up to me.

"Manami, Daijobu?" He asked.

"H-Hai…" I mumbled.

"You don't look okay." He said.

"I'm just a little confused…" I mumbled.

I walked a little bit faster this time.

I just wanted to be alone.

I sat next to a river, looking at the ripples of the water.

I opened my hand.

Fire began to come out.

I sighed sadly.

My demon won't rest.

As you know, my demon is a fire demon.

**--xx—**

Half an hour had passed.

I was completely unaware that my demon could take over.

My life sucks.

If I pick Gaara, Sasuke would have his heart broken.

If I pick Sasuke, Gaara would have his heart broken.

Either way, somebody's going to be hurt.

Damn it.

Suddenly, I felt a surge of power throughout my body.

No… this cannot be happening.

Then, a pair of cat ears cam out of my head and I grew out a tail.

_**It's been a long time, Manami-sama… **_A voice said in my mind.

Oh shit…

It's the demon.

"What do you want!?!?" I screamed.

_**You know exactly what I want, Manami-sama… I want you to destroy everything… with me.**_ The demon said.

"BAKA NEKO!! LEAVE ME ALONE!" I yelled.

_**I'm afraid I can't do that Manami-sama.**_

"NO!!"

It was too late.

The demon was taking over me.

My demon began to take its monster form on me.

My nails were growing sharper and longer.

Oh shit…

My teeth were growing and it began to look like cat teeth.

Very sharp.

_**You'll be happy once **__**we**__** destroy everything, Manami-sama. Let's start with your loved ones… perhaps... Sasuke and Gaara? **_The demon said.

Shit.

"NO!!!!!!!" I screamed.

**Gaara's POV**

I followed Manami, but after half an hour, Manami was gone.

Then, I heard someone scream.

It was a girl.

She sounded a lot like…

MANAMI!!

"Kuso… (shit)" I whispered.

I knew about her demon problem.

When half an hour passes, her demon will try to take over.

I ran through the forest, looking for Manami.

Then I heard a loud crash.

A tree must've been hit.

I kept running and found Manami screaming, trying to take control of her demon.

"NO!! STOP IT!!!!! I WON'T LET YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed.

She had tears streaming down her cheeks.

Her tears were breaking my heart.

**Sasuke's POV**

I stayed at the lake for about half an hour and was just about to leave until I heard a loud crash.

It was in the direction where Manami walked.

I ran towards the sound, hoping that Manami was okay.

I heard her screaming, so I ran faster.

_Damn it… that girl is making me worried…_ I thought.

I followed her screams until I found her in the middle of the forest.

I also saw Gaara.

_Why can't he just leave her alone?_ I thought.

Manami began turning into a demon.

Oh crap.

**Manami's POV**

My demon began taking over me.

_**You'll be happy once the troubles in your life are gone…**_ Its voice echoed in the forest.

Great.

Now the whole forest can hear it.

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU!!!" I screamed.

My demon began smashing trees and destroying everything.

I began crying until I heard someone's voice.

"MANAMI!!! SNAP OUT OF IT!!!!!!!!!!" The voice said.

I turned to see Sasuke.

I felt pain all over me.

I swore.

My demon was going to take its full form on me.

I felt another pain on my neck.

Oh no…

Not the cursed mark too…

**Sasuke's POV**

KUSO!!

What the hell do we do?!?!?

There's no choice.

I'm gonna have to call for help.

"GAARA!!" I yelled.

He looked at me.

"MAKE SURE MANAMI DOESN'T DESTROY THE VILLAGE!! KEEP HER DISTRACTED!!" I screamed.

He nodded and I ran to the village for help.

**Gaara's POV**

I nodded at Sasuke as he ran to the village.

How do I stop a demon girl?

I can't hurt her.

I thought about it.

So I can't hurt her… so what can I do.

I got it.

I ran up to her.

I knew that she couldn't hurt because 1: I'm her best friend and 2: I have my sand to protect me.

I grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Manami, STOP IT!!!" I yelled, shaking her by her shoulders.

She began screaming because of the demon.

_**Don't you dare try to stop Manami-sama, Gaara. **_The demon said.

"I DON'T CARE!!" I yelled.

I pulled Manami closer whilst she cried.

"Manami! Listen to me!! You have got to snap out of it!!" I shouted.

I leaned in and kissed her.

It was the only way to calm her down.

Her eyes widened as the black marks on her body began to fade away and her demon form was going away.

I broke away to see her crying even more.

She hugged me and held her head onto my chest.

"I-I am so s-sorry, Gaara-kun…" She whispered.

I stroked her hair gently and whispered, "Shh… its okay, Manami."

**Manami's POV**

I cried onto Gaara's chest.

Stupid demon.

I saw Sasuke running back with Kakashi.

I let go of Gaara before Sasuke could see me.

But sadly, he did see me hugging Gaara.

He frowned.

I looked away.

Kakashi ran up to me.

"We have got to help you with your demon. NOW." Kakashi said.

"I'll try to talk with it." I said.

He nodded.

I sat down and closed my eyes.

I have done this before, because I wanted my demon to stop.

I soon found myself in a place that had water up to my ankles.

Sasuke, Gaara and Kakashi weren't there.

I walked to a cage to find my demon continuously cursing.

I called her Neko, because Neko means cat in Japanese, and my demon is a cat.

I walked closer to the cage and she glanced at me.

_**What do you want?**_ Neko mumbled.

Neko was obviously angry because she failed to take over me.

We haven't talked much.

"Neko…chan, why do you always try to take over me?" I asked.

_**Because… I… I've had a rough life. **_Neko said.

"You can tell me." I said softly.

Neko sighed and turned to me.

_**"It's just my way of life. I wasn't a demon before. I was born into the world as a tiger until a ninja came and killed my family. I remember his name. I swore to kill him, that cold-hearted bastard."**_ Neko said.

"What was his name?" I asked.

_**"Uchiha. Itachi Uchiha."**_ Neko growled.

I gasped.

"T-That's Sasuke's brother" I said.

_**"I know. I want to kill everything that has to do with Itachi."**_ Neko said.

"So, how did you become a demon?"

_**"Itachi put me on a powerful jutsu that lasts for eternity. I turned into a demon and somehow I found you with your brother in the forest and I became your demon. You were around two years old."**_

"Oh…"

_**"I'm sorry, Manami-sama. But I must kill Itachi." **_

"But why must you take over me? You could wait for the day when we meet Itachi and then you can get your revenge." I said.

_**"I can't wait that long, and besides, I try to take over you so that when I have my full form on you, we can split into two, meaning, I'll be my full demon form and you'll have your normal body."**_ Neko explained.

"I see… but, you can wait. Sasuke is going to get his revenge too, and I know that someday we will kill him… so please… can you stop trying to destroy everything?" I asked.

Neko sighed again.

_**I… suppose so… but when I see Itachi again I am not going to be stopped from killing him.**_

"Okay. Arigato, Neko-chan, this means so much to me." I said.

_**Manami-sama, before you leave, there's one more thing I have to say.**_

"Nani?"

_**Manami-sama, I know you like Sasuke and Gaara, but you must pick only one. They both care for you. You care for them. Choose wisely. Either way, you'll end up with a cute guy.**_

I giggled and said, "Thanks for the advice, Neko-chan."

I smiled at my demon before going back to the real world.

I opened my eyes to find Kakashi, Gaara and Sasuke watching me.

"So? What happened?" Kakashi said.

"We're good now. Neko— I mean, my demon won't take over… unless…" I mumbled.

"What?" Kakashi asked.

"Unless my demon sees Sasuke's brother." I said.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"How does your demon know about Itachi?" Sasuke asked.

"Itachi killed my demon's family."

"Oh…"

"My demon will kill Itachi Uchiha, no matter what it takes." I said sadly.

I looked up at them.

"Kakashi, you can leave now." I said.

He gave me a concerned look, but nodded and walked away.

I looked towards Gaara.

I stood up to face Sasuke.

"You two, I like you both, but I… I want to settle this once and for all." I said.

They both nodded.

"I… I don't want any of you to be angry at me." I said sadly.

They understood.

"Sasuke, when you confessed to me earlier, it made me a little nervous, as in, I felt different about you… in a good way." I said, smiling to Sasuke.

"Gaara, you're my best friend and you have taken care of that necklace I gave you. It was truly sweet of you to take care of a possession for six and a half years." I said, smiling to Gaara.

"But… there is only one I care for…" I mumbled.

The boys listened intently.

I came up to Gaara and kissed him softly on the lips and did the same to Sasuke.

"Please don't hate me Gaara…" I said, "But… I feel like… I want Sasuke."

I felt tears steaming down my face.

"Gomenasai, Gaara-kun!!" I said as I cried harder.

I stuffed my face into my hands.

Sasuke and Gaara looked at each other and nodded.

I guess that was a guy's way of apologizing and forgiving.

Sasuke and Gaara hugged me at the same time.

"I understand, Manami. I'm happy for you. You will be happy with Sasuke in your life" Gaara said.

I was surprised at Gaara's reply.

"You mean… you don't hate me?" I asked.

"No, not at all. I just want you to be happy." He said.

I hugged him.

"Thank you so much…" I said.

I looked at Sasuke and gave him a small smile.

He smirked at me.

I blushed slightly and walked up to him.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you, Sasuke-kun." I mumbled.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you." Sasuke replied.

I hugged him.

Sasuke is such a great guy, so is Gaara.

"Manami?" Sasuke said.

I looked up into his dark eyes.

"Manami, I want you to call me Sasuke. Not Sasuke-kun. Okay?" Sasuke said.

I giggled softly.

"It reminds you of the fangirls, right?" I said.

"Yeah."

"Very well then, Sasuke." I said.

Then, he lifted my chin and kissed me.

"I'll leave you two to it, then." Gaara smirked.

I blushed and continued kissing Sasuke.

He broke away and said,

"I love you."

* * *

_I am soo sorry that this chapter is late, but I was working on another fanfiction, my ouran high school host club one. Check it out, it's called "Ouran Academy is for the rich and the talented." NOW MANAMI IS GOING TO BE WITH SASUKE!! HOORAH!! I'm sorry if you're disappointed, but I just love Sasuke too much to break his heart._

_Please review, it's not too hard either!! THANK YOU FOR READING SO FAR!!_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter Eleven: Her weakness.**_

**Manami's POV**

I hugged Sasuke once more.

"Hey, Manami, wanna have lunch at my house?" Sasuke asked.

"Sure."

He took my hand and I followed him to his house.

When he opened the door, I was shocked.

"Sasuke, haven't you ever tried to spruce this place up a bit? Or at least… clean it?" I asked.

Yes. It was a very boring, dirty house.

"Well, no. I'm always in training so… I don't clean." He replied.

"I'll help you clean these things up." I said.

He nodded.

"I'm gonna start cooking, you can go and take a shower if you want, since you kinda hurt yourself with the demon." Sasuke said.

"You're so sweet." I said.

I walked up to his and kissed him on the cheek.

He blushed and walked into the kitchen.

I smiled to myself and went upstairs to the shower.

Damn it.

I just remembered.

After I took a shower, I grabbed a towel, wrapped it around my body and called out to Sasuke.

"Sasuke!!"

Sasuke walked to the bathroom door.

He didn't see me of course; we were talking to each other behind and in front of the door.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"I… umm… don't have any other clothes…" I said.

"Oh…" Sasuke mumbled.

_Thank god my underwear is clean._ I thought.

"I'll get you some of my clothes then." Sasuke said.

I smiled.

He is such a great guy.

I heard his footsteps go into his room and coming back to the door.

"Here." He said.

I opened the door slightly.

I took the clothes.

"D-Domo… (Thanks)" I said.

He blushed because he saw me in the towel.

I blushed as well.

I closed the door and began changing.

I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror.

"Not bad…" I said to myself.

He gave me one of his black shirts with the Uchiha crest on the back and black boxers.

I walked out of the bathroom and smelt Sasuke's cooking.

I ran downstairs to find a beautiful lunch that already filled me up just by smelling it.

"Sugoi… (Amazing)" I said.

Sasuke smirked.

"I didn't know that you could cook this well…" I said.

"Now you know, and also, you look cute in my clothes." Sasuke said.

I blushed a little.

"Erm… thanks." I said.

After we ate lunch, I heard my mobile ringing.

Yes, I have a mobile phone.

Everyone else does.

I picked up and I heard my brother's voice.

_"WHERE ARE YOU?!?!? I ASKED GAARA AND HE SAID HE DIDN'T KNOW!! DON'T TELL ME YOU GOT HURT!!" _Neji screamed.

"Gee, protective much?" I mumbled.

_"Where are you?"_

"I'm with Sasuke."

_"WHY?"_

"Because… I love him"

Sasuke blushed softly at this comment.

_"WHAT!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!???!? OH MY GOD!! WHEN ON EARTH DID THIS HAPPEN???"_

"Today."

_"Where are you, I know you're with Sasuke, but where are you?"_

"I'm at his house."

I heard him sigh.

_"Whatever. If you come back and he hurt you, you know that I will kill him, right?"_

"I know nii-san…"

_"Good… now… take care."_

"Bye."

And that ended the strange conversation.

"What was that all about?" Sasuke asked.

"My brother freaked when he heard I was at your house." I replied.

Sasuke chuckled.

"I wish my brother would be protective of me." Sasuke joked.

I smiled.

We watched the television for a while.

I sat next to him and he did that classic move where you pretend to yawn and put your arm around the girl's shoulders.

I didn't mind.

In fact, I snuggled into his chest.

He smirked.

We sat there like that for a while.

I was so happy.

I fell in love and my demon is now kind to me.

This could be the best day of my life.

I hugged Sasuke and he lifted my chin.

He brought his soft lips onto mine.

I blushed.

Seriously, I didn't see this coming.

He randomly kissed me.

But I liked it.

_**A lot.**_

He kissed me softly and I kissed back.

He broke away for a moment and kissed my neck.

Wow.

He found my weak spot.

He kissed my neck harder and slightly sucked on my skin.

I giggled softly.

He smirked and went back to kissing my lips.

I put my hand on his neck and he wrapped his arms around my waist.

He traced his tongue on my bottom lip, as if he were asking for entrance into my mouth.

I hesitated at first, but I let his tongue slip in.

He began exploring my mouth.

We broke away and smiled at each other.

"I haven't been this happy since… that time…" Sasuke said.

"It's okay, because I want you to be happy every time you're with me." I said.

I snuggled in his chest again and he watched the T.V.

I could hear his heart beating.

It was a nice sound.

His breathing began to lull me to sleep.

And I did.

**Sasuke's POV**

I am so happy to have found Manami.

I watched her as she slowly fell asleep on my chest.

I smiled.

I stroked her hair softly.

She's so beautiful.

I love her.

And I'm happy that she loves me back.

I kissed her on the forehead and continued watching the T.V.

Who knew that I, Sasuke Uchiha, could fall in love?

**Manami's POV**

I was fast asleep until I heard three voices.

What on earth…?

I opened my eyes and looked at Sasuke.

He was still watching T.V.

I smiled at him.

His arm was around me.

"Glad to see you're awake." He said.

I nodded.

The three voices were getting closer.

Sasuke looked at me.

"Who are those voices?" I asked.

"I… don't know." Sasuke said.

We looked at the main door.

It smashed open and the three voices turned out to be Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi.

I blushed.

Sasuke blushed. Slightly.

He seems to be good at hiding his emotions to others.

Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi looked at us.

"Uhh… did we come at a bad time?" Naruto asked.

He asked that stupid question because he saw me snuggling onto Sasuke's chest and Sasuke's arm around me.

I sat up and Sakura glared at me.

"Umm… no, you didn't come at a bad time" I replied.

Sakura gasped.

"Nani?" I asked

"W-Why are you wearing Sasuke-kun's clothing?!?!?" She yelled.

I looked at my clothes.

"Oh. Umm…" I mumbled.

Sasuke smirked.

"I just took a shower and he gave me some spare clothes." I explained.

"Oh. Okay then." Sakura said sadly.

**NOOO!! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE WEARING SASUKE-KUN'S CLOTHING, NOT HER!!! CHA!! **Sakura's inner self said.

"Why are you guys here anyway?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, we were gonna ask you to train with us, but… it seems you were busy." Kakashi said, winking at me.

I blushed.

"Well, we'll be heading off now." Kakashi said.

Naruto and Sakura complained, but Kakashi pushed them out.

The door closed.

"What… just happened…?" I mumbled.

"No idea." Sasuke replied.

**-xx-**

I could tell what Kakashi and Neji would be thinking right now.

_An Uchiha and a Hyuga._

_What an odd couple._

Bah.

What do they know?

Those two won't stop me from loving Sasuke.

I looked outside.

Clouds began forming.

I looked at the T.V.

It's a coincidence that the weather forecast was on.

_"Today, the weather forecast is rain, rain, rain all the way! The rain should end by tomorrow night!" _The reporter said, rather happily, might I add.

How could they be happy abut rain?

But, the reporter was right.

Heavy rain began pouring.

"Oh great." I mumbled.

"Nani?" Sasuke asked.

"I can't get home now, because of the rain." I replied.

"Why not? You could survive the rain. You're a shinobi." Sasuke said.

"I know, but… rain isn't a good thing for me. Because… my demon is like a part of me…" I mumbled.

"Which means…?"

"My demon is a fire demon. And rain can easily put fire out. Which means rain is my… weakness." I said.

"I understand… you can stay in the guest bedroom." Sasuke replied.

I hugged him.

"Arigato." I said.

I got the phone and called Neji.

_"Hello?" _Neji said.

"Neji-nii, its Manami."

_"DID SASUKE HURT YOU? WHAT DID HE DO? PLEASE TELL ME YOU DIDN"T GET HURT!!!"_

"No, I didn't get hurt."

_"What is it then?"_

"I'll be sleeping over at Sasuke's house tonight."

_"WHAT?!?!?! WHY?!?!?"_

"Because it's raining."

_"SO WHA—Oh… okay… Make sure you don't come home pregnant."_

"EW. WHAT THE HELL?!?!?"

Neji chuckled.

"I don't get you…" I mumbled.

We said our goodbyes and hung up.

**-xx-**

I pretty much stayed at Sasuke's house the whole day.

It was too dangerous outside.

Two reasons.

One: It was raining.

Two: Fanboys and Fangirls.

I hate fanboy and fangirls.

It was now 7:30pm.

"Sasuke, you don't mind if I prepare dinner do you?" I asked.

"No, I should be cooking. You're the guest here." Sasuke replied.

I smiled at him.

"Please?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes.

"I'm helping you out then." Sasuke said.

Do you see why I love him?

We walked into the kitchen and began preparing dinner.

I asked him to slice some vegetables at to be honest… he didn't have a clue.

His cutting was all wrong and he didn't even use a chopping board.

"You are clueless, aren't you?" I asked.

"No. I just don't normally cook vegetables..." He mumbled.

"I could tell." I smirked.

"Give me the knife" I said.

He gave the knife to me and I took out a chopping board.

I put the vegetable on the chopping board and began to slice it perfectly.

"See, it's like this." I pointed out as I sliced the vegetable.

He smirked.

"How'd you learn how to cook?" He asked.

"Okaa-san (Mother) taught me and I cook for my brother nearly everyday." I replied.

"Oh," He mumbled.

He smirked again and I felt his chest against my back and his arms wrapping around my waist.

He placed his hands on mine and followed the directions of my hands.

"So, I'm supposed to do this?" He whispered in my ear.

His voice made me shiver.

I could feel his warm breath on my neck.

"H-Hai" I said.

I could tell that he was enjoying this.

Damn him.

He always tends to make me feel shy around him.

Then, out of the blue, he says, "I love you, Manami."

I turned around to face him.

"I know you do" I replied, smirking.

"That's not the response I wanted to hear." He said.

I brought his face closer to mine.

Our noses were barely touching.

"Well then, read my lips. I love you." I said.

"I'd rather kiss those lips."

And he did.

* * *

_HOORAH!! SORRY IF THIS CHAPTER IS TOO SHORT!!! I was rushing._

PLEASE Review!!! I thank all those people who reviewed and who are reading this story!!

I feel pretty and witty and GAY!! XDD

THANK YOU!!!!

screams randomly


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter Twelve: Heart-broken…**_

**Manami's POV**

After we finished eating dinner and washing the dishes, we headed upstairs to the bedrooms.

Sasuke guided me to the guest room.

I opened the door and gasped.

IT.

WAS.

FILTHY.

I could've sworn I saw some blood stains on the wall…

"Whoa. Ermm… Sasuke, haven't you _**ever**_ heard of cleaning up before?" I asked.

"Gomen. I don't have time to clean up." He mumbled.

"It's okay" I sighed.

"So, where _**can **_I sleep?" I asked.

"Well, there _**is **_my bedroom…" Sasuke mumbled.

"Or the couch." I remarked.

He pouted.

I laughed.

"Nani, you want me to sleep with you?" I asked.

"Hai." He said.

"Haha. Very funny. We've only been a couple for a day and you _**already **_want me to sleep in the same bed as you." I mumbled.

"I was expecting you to do that." Sasuke said.

"Well, for tonight, I'm sleeping on the couch. No buts." I said.

"But—"

"No buts." I repeated.

"Great." He mumbled.

He handed me a pillow and a blanket and I headed downstairs to the couch.

Sasuke opened the couch.

It seemed like the couch was folded.

"So… it was a sofa bed, huh?" I smirked.

"I want the best for my girlfriend." He replied, smirking as well.

I smirked and blushed at the same time.

He called me his girlfriend.

As soon as the sofa bed was set up, I lied down and fell asleep quickly.

**Sasuke's POV**

I finished setting up the sofa bed and Manami crawled in and quickly fell asleep.

She probably forgot that I was still in the room.

I sat on the sofa bed next to her sleeping figure.

_She's so beautiful…_ I thought.

I stroked her hair softly and smiled softly.

She was the only one who brought happiness into my life.

Manami moved a bit, but continued sleeping peacefully.

I went upstairs and took a shower and got dressed.

I was about to go to bed, until I thought about Manami.

I mean… she _**is **_sleeping alone tonight…

And… She wouldn't _**mind **_if I… well… let's just say… crawl in the sofa bed with her?

She wouldn't mind.

Nope.

No.

Nuh-uh.

Not at all…

Right?

I headed downstairs and found Manami still sound asleep.

I went to the sofa bed and crawled into the covers.

It feels so right to be around her.

She was facing my side, but she was still asleep.

Her breathing was steady and her mouth was slightly opened, so that she can breathe fluently.

I stroked her face with my thumb softly.

She's still asleep.

I was beginning to feel sleepy.

I kissed Manami softly on her forehead and wrapped my arms around her.

Then, I fell asleep.

**Manami's POV**

I felt the sun hit my face, so I woke up the next morning, not recognizing my surroundings.

Then I remembered.

I slept at Sasuke's house.

I tried to get up, but something was holding me back.

My eyes went wide.

_KUSO!! _I thought.

Sasuke was hugging me once again.

He _**SNUCK **_into my bed last night!!

HOW _**DARE **_HE!!

I screamed, also blushing at the same time.

He woke up immediately, and fell off the bed too.

"SASUKE, WHAT THE HELL?!?!?" I screamed.

He gave me a funny look.

Well, more like a "What. The. Crap." Look.

I began yelling at him for sneaking in the bed.

He stopped me by crashing his lips onto mine.

He let go and whispered in my ear, "Gomenasai, Honto ni (Really), Gomen… Manami"

His voice sent shivers down my spine.

My cheeks began to burn.

"R-Right… anou… I'll just… a-anou…" I stuttered.

I'm becoming just like Hinata.

Hinata's always stuttering.

Sasuke smirked.

"I'm gonna call my brother now…" I said.

He nodded and prepared breakfast.

I got the phone and called Neji.

_"Hello?"_

"Ohayo Gozaimasu (Good morning), Neji-nii!"

_"Manami!! DID SASUKE HURT YOU!?!??"_

"NO! Stop asking that question over and over again!!"

_"Oh… Gomen... So… what's up?"_

"Nothing… I just wanted to ask you if you could bring my clothes over. If it's not too hard."

_"Sure… umm… I'll be over in five minutes."_

"Arigato, Nii-san."

_"Yeah, yeah…"_

"Nii-san?"

_"Huh?"_

"You're my favorite brother, you know that?"

_"I'm your __**only**__ brother."_

"That's why."

_"Very funny. Jaa ne."_

"Jaa ne"

I hung up and found Sasuke in the kitchen, scrambling some eggs.

He gave me a small smile.

I wrapped my arms around his chest while he was cooking.

I squeezed him tightly.

"Good morning Sasuke and… I love you…" I mumbled.

"I love you too…" He replied.

He finished cooking and faced me.

He leaned over and kissed me.

As soon as we broke away, I asked, "Why did you just randomly kiss me?"

"Because I love you" He replied.

"I already know that" I said.

I smiled softly.

I gave him a small hug and we began to eat our breakfast.

**-xx-**

Neji knocked on the door.

Sasuke got up and opened the door.

As soon as Neji saw Sasuke, he began glaring daggers at him.

I ran to the door.

"Umm, Hi! Neji-nii!" I said.

My brother's eyes widened.

"W-Why are you w-wearing… SASUKE'S CLOTHING!?!?!?" He screamed.

Crud.

I forgot about that.

I stuttered, "Oh! These? Umm… well… I didn't—"

"DID YOU SLEEP WITH HIM!?!??!" Neji screamed.

"Well, not exactly…" I mumbled.

"HOW CAN YOU 'NOT EXACTLY' SLEEP WITH SASUKE!!?!?" He yelled.

"I didn't 'do it' with him, if that's what you think." I replied calmly.

"So… you slept with him. But you didn't 'do it' with him" Neji said.

"Exactly"

"Oh. Okay. But, Sasuke…" Neji began.

Sasuke looked at him.

"Yeah?" Sasuke said.

"I'm watching you." Neji sneered.

I grabbed the clothes of my brother and slammed the door closed in his face.

I laughed nervously.

"Ermm… Sorry about my brother. He can get really protective." I said.

Sasuke was a bit scared, but he could handle it.

I think.

He nodded.

"I'll be fine. Your brother creeps me out a bit, but I'll be fine." Sasuke mumbled.

I gave him a small smile and headed upstairs to take a shower.

After my shower I wore my normal ninja outfit.

**-xx-**

I went downstairs and found Sasuke watching the television.

I looked out the window and watched the rain pour.

I hate the rain.

I sighed.

"I'm gonna take a shower now" Sasuke said.

I nodded.

He gave me a small kiss before going upstairs.

**-xx-**

It had been a couple of weeks since Sasuke and I had been girlfriend and boyfriend.

Of course, we didn't tell anyone.

No one else knows, except for Kakashi, Gaara and Neji.

Sasuke has been out training a lot for the third exam too.

Did I mention that the third exam is tomorrow?

I stayed at Sasuke's house from time to time.

Gaara and I have become closer too.

Neji is _**beginning **_to warm up to Sasuke too.

My life couldn't get any better.

At least, I think so.

I heard a knock on my door this afternoon.

I opened it and found Sakura.

"Ohayo, Sakura!" I chirped.

"Hey! I'm gonna throw this party at my place tonight, and I was wondering if you could come!" Sakura replied.

"Sure! Can I bring along my brother and my other friends?" I asked.

"Of course!" She said.

Then, she left.

**-xx-**

It was around 6:00pm.

I was getting dressed into a simple white dress.

The dress's length was above my knees.

I walked out of my room and checked on Temari.

She seemed to have a bit of trouble, but I helped her.

I knocked on Kankuro's and Gaara's door.

"You guys done yet?" I asked.

"Yeah" Gaara said.

I opened the door to find Gaara looking out the window and Kankuro staring at me.

Gaara turned and faced me.

I could've sworn I saw a blush on his cheeks.

"WOW! Manami, you look GREAT!!" Kankuro said.

"Thanks" I mumbled.

"So, are you guys ready to go?" I asked.

They nodded.

I grabbed my brother from his room.

Once we reached Sakura's house, I knocked on the door.

"Hey guys! I'm glad you could make it" Sakura said when she opened the door.

I smiled.

Sakura opened the door wider, gesturing us to come inside.

When we came inside, everyone was there, except for Sasuke.

I was a little disappointed, but I was sure that he would come.

**-xx-**

Two hours had passed and Sasuke _**still **_wasn't there.

I heard the door open.

I looked towards the door and saw Sasuke.

We made eye contact.

I smiled at him and he smirked.

Our gazes were locked.

Until Sakura and Ino tackled him to the ground.

"SASUKE-KUUUUN!! I'M SOO HAPPY THAT YOU MADE IT!!!" The fangirls said.

I sighed and headed outside.

_I need some fresh air. _I thought.

I looked up at the sky and saw billions of brilliant stars.

"It's beautiful…" I whispered to myself.

"Yeah, you are" A voice said.

I turned around to find Sasuke.

"Oh. Hey." I said.

"Hey." Sasuke replied.

"So, why did you come?" I asked.

"Well, I heard that you were coming…" Sasuke mumbled.

"And…?" I asked.

"And…. I wanted to see you" He said.

I smiled.

"Aww, the great Uchiha prodigy is truly falling in love!" I remarked.

He smirked.

"I guess so" He said.

He looked around us, checking if anyone was watching.

Luckily, no one was, so he kissed me softly on the lips.

We smiled at each other and then went inside.

**Sakura's POV**

I saw Manami and Sasuke coming inside together.

Why are they always together?

It's getting really annoying.

I didn't like Manami and Sasuke together.

What if they're secretly a couple?

NO!

I want Sasuke all to myself.

And I'll make him love me starting from tonight.

I walked over to Sasuke and asked sweetly, "Sasuke-kun, can I talk to you in private for a moment?"

He looked at Manami, who was next to him, and she nodded.

Sasuke smiled at Manami and I told him to follow me to the kitchen.

Thank God no one was inside there.

I closed the door and faced Sasuke.

He gave me a funny look, and I could tell it wasn't a good one, either.

"Sasuke-kun," I began, "I love you more than anything in this world, and I was hoping that you would too"

His face looked disgusted at me.

"No matter what, I won't love you, even if you were the last woman on earth!" He yelled.

I giggled.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, you're so funny…" I whispered.

I leaned over to him and kissed him roughly on the lips.

His eyes widened.

He tried to push me away, but with my excellent chakra control, I was able to wrap my chakra around him, keeping him still.

I just knew that this would work.

**Manami's POV**

I joined the other rookies when Sasuke walked away with Sakura.

I talked to Kiba for a while, and we decided to get some drinks.

As soon as we reached the food table, there were no more drinks..

Kiba frowned.

"Don't worry Kiba, I'll get some more drinks in the kitchen" I said.

I turned his frown upside down.

I took his glass cup so that I could fill it up for him.

I opened the door and found Sakura and Sasuke kissing.

Sakura turned around to face me and she smirked.

Sasuke looked completely shocked.

My eyes widened.

I dropped the glass cup.

The sound of glass smashing onto the floor made everyone silent.

The guests turned to look at the kitchen.

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.

**Sakura's POV**

I smirked and I took away the chakra that was around Sasuke.

Sasuke ran to Manami.

Manami looked heart-broken.

Were they really a couple?

**Manami's POV**

I felt a tear slide down my cheek.

Sasuke ran to me and hugged me.

"Doushte? (Why?)" I whispered.

Sasuke tried to explain.

"Manami, I'm so sorry, but I—"

I pushed him away.

"How could you?!?! We were in love for a couple of weeks, then all of a sudden you go kissing other girls?!?!?" I screamed.

Everyone gasped and murmured things like, "They were together?" or "What an idiot Sasuke is"

"But Manami—"

I cut him off by slapping him.

"I knew it…" I mumbled.

"What…?" Sasuke whispered.

"Sasuke Uchiha can't ever last in a loving relationship" I said coldly.

"Manami, you don't understand!!" Sasuke yelled.

I looked away.

"I understand completely" I mumbled.

Then, I walked out of the house, with silence surrounding me.

I sat on a bench.

It was around 9:30pm now.

I knew that Sasuke wouldn't be able to love anyone that much.

He just has to break my heart.

I stuffed my face in my palms and began crying.

I felt a hand on my back.

I looked up and found Gaara sitting next to me on the bench.

"Daijobu, Manami?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"Who knew that love could hurt this much?" I mumbled.

Gaara pulled me into a hug.

"I know how it feels. You know my life story. And Manami," Gaara said, "I want you to know that I will _**always **_be there for you"

I managed to give him a small smile.

I rested my head on his chest and cried.

**-xx-**

Gaara took me home, where I can rest peacefully.

He stayed with me at the Hyuga mansion.

"There's no point of going if you're not there" Gaara said.

Aww.

How sweet.

I smiled at him and mumbled, "Arigato"

A little while later, Neji, Temari and Kankuro came back home.

Neji ran to me and said, "I knew that Uchiha wasn't good enough for my sister!! I will kill him!! HE HURT MY LITTLE SISTER!!!"

I smiled at him.

"Arigato, nii-san, demo, I'll be okay. You don't have to kill Sasuke, but thanks for being protective" I said reassuringly.

He sighed.

"Well, if you want me to kill him, I won't hesitate" Neji said.

I nodded and headed upstairs and got ready for bed.

I was wearing my black nightgown.

I walked to Gaara's room.

I knocked on the door softly.

"Gaara?" I called.

"Come in" He said.

Gaara was watching the moon again.

Kankuro was already asleep.

I sat next to him on the window sill.

"Gaara, I wish you the best of luck for the third exam" I said.

He nodded and said, "Thanks"

"So… what's up with you and Sasuke?" Gaara asked quietly.

I looked down.

"Oh. A-Anou… I don't know what's up with us, but it's probably not good either" I mumbled.

"Whatever you say, Manami, but I won't be giving up on you. Ever..." Gaara said.

I nodded.

"Right now, if I endure any more pain, who knows what might happen…?" I said.

He nodded.

"Well, goodnight." Gaara said.

"Yeah, 'night" I said.

I hugged him and he leaned over to me and kissed my forehead.

My cheeks turned pink for a bit, but I hid it by going to my room.

I know that tomorrow is going to be a long day.

And I keep having this bad feeling…

It feels like something bad is going to happen...

Tomorrow...

* * *

_OHAYOOOOOOO!!!!! THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED!! THEY MAKE ME FEEL SOOOO SPECIALLL!!!!!! heart I'd like to give a special shout-out to:_

_- Shashuko The Paisley Maiden (YOU ROCK!!!)_

_- Angel Fate Of The Desert (THANK YOU!!!)_

_- Palomino Viper (YOU LOVEABLE CREATURE!!!)_

_- Chinbaldo (VERY SPECIALL!!!)_

_- Guardian Of Atlantis (THANKS FOR HELPING!!!)_

_HOW I LOVE ALL OF YOU!!!! THANKS TO ALL MY READERS, AND PLEASE... REVIEW!!! It's not too hard, and I'll give you a preview of the next chapter!! _

_The next chapter is the third exam._

_Manami-chan watches and is quite shocked as to how Gaara and Sasuke's fight occurs..._

_And a certain snake gives an unexpected visit to Konoha._

_Will he take Manami-chan and Uchiha-san away?_

_Will Manami-chan still love Uchiha-san?_

_Does Gaara-kun have any feelings for Manami-chan?_

_Who will Manami-chan choose?_

_Please review, and look out for my other fanfictioon, "Ouran is for the rich and the talented" IT'S ABOUT OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB (OHSHC) Keep an eye out for the next chappie!! Jaa ne!!_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter Thirteen: Betrayed at the Third Exam!**_

**A/N:**

**I'm not going into the details into this chapter, but a BIG surprise is waiting for you!! Keekeekee!! ARIGATO GOZAIMASHITA to ****yukosuko****!! That was very nice of you to say!! Made me soo happy! Also… ****Let's just say that it's the month: OCTOBER!!**

* * *

****

**Gaara's POV**

I watched Manami walk out of the room.

_"Right now, if I endure any more pain, who knows what might happen…?" _

Her voice echoed in my head.

I couldn't believe what I was going to do to the next day.

I didn't want her to suffer.

I knew I was going to regret it.

**Manami's POV**

I kept thinking about tomorrow.

There was no doubt that I was going to see him tomorrow.

_**Him **_as in _**Sasuke**_.

I couldn't avoid him.

I know that Sasuke would try to apologize.

What should I do?

I can't forgive him.

Somehow, I'm beginning to think that love is a weakness.

But, seriously, out of _**all **_people, he chose Sakura?

Ugh.

It hurts just to think about him.

I crawled into my bed and fell asleep.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day…

**-xx-**

I shot up from bed, knowing that it was the day

The third exam.

I did my morning routine and prepared breakfast.

I looked at the clock.

8:00am.

I'm scared.

I don't feel like seeing Sasuke.

Perhaps he's going to be with Sakura?

No…

He wouldn't fall for a fangirl…

Would he?

I sighed and put breakfast on the table.

I woke everyone up.

Excluding Gaara.

He has insomnia… remember…?

They ate breakfast and Gaara and Neji kept asking me questions.

"Are you sure you want to go today?" Neji asked.

"Yes. I want to see you guys fight" I replied, still eating my breakfast.

"What about Sasuke?" Gaara asked.

"Please don't talk about him while I'm eating." I said.

"Sorry" Gaara mumbled.

I nodded.

"Other than that, I wish all you guys the best of luck!" I said.

They nodded.

**-xx-**

I was sitting on a seat at the third exam.

I was in the front row.

I avoided eye contact from Sakura.

Three battles had finished already.

So far, Naruto, Temari and Shino had won the battles.

Sasuke was no where in sight.

It was Gaara's and Sasuke's round now.

Sasuke still wasn't there.

Gaara was waiting for Sasuke.

I looked at him and he looked at me.

I smiled and mouthed, "Good luck"

He nodded, but didn't smile.

What happened to him?

Did I do something wrong?

Everyone in the arena was murmuring "Where is that Uchiha boy?"

Out of nowhere, a big "POOF" came.

When the cloud disappeared, Kakashi and Sasuke were standing back-to-back.

Kakashi apologized for being late and Sasuke scanned the crowd, as if he were searching for someone.

I know who that was.

It was me.

He found me.

We made eye contact, but I wasn't giving him a happy look.

I didn't give him a hateful look either.

I was sad.

I looked away in disappointment.

I could tell that Sasuke was disappointed.

"Begin!" The proctor said.

And Gaara and Sasuke did.

**-xx-**

So many things happened.

Gaara got hurt.

He actually got _**hurt**_.

Sasuke _**hurt**_ him.

Then, Gaara ran away and Temari and Kankuro went to get him.

Sasuke goes after them.

Kakashi ran up to me and said, "Manami, go get Sasuke with Sakura and the others!"

I nodded and left.

I have a slight feeling that… Orochimaru is doing this.

But why?

Is it about the cursed marks?

"Who do you think is doing this?" Sakura asked.

I didn't reply.

I could tell that Sakura felt guilty.

"Listen Manami, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know that you and Sasuke were together… but I just love him so much" Sakura said.

"Love him for what? His looks?" I mumbled.

"I love his looks, his abilities and his rebel attitude." Sakura said.

She practically swooned.

I scoffed.

"Trust me Sakura, you know nothing about him" I said.

The second I said that, I gained more speed and went ahead of the others.

Later Shikamaru stays to fight off some people.

Then, Kankuro ambushed us.

"Sorry Manami, but I have to do this." Kankuro said.

I shook my head in disappointment.

Shino came and fought Kankuro.

When we reached Sasuke and Gaara, Naruto was there also.

Sasuke and Naruto were trying to fight Gaara.

So far, Gaara was winning.

My eyes widened.

"GAARA!!! STOP IT!!!!" I screamed.

Gaara was about to put the finishing blow on Sasuke, but Sakura went in front of Sasuke with a kunai, protecting him.

Gaara's sand hit Sakura instead.

It looked like it was a pretty hard hit.

Sasuke was slowly waking up.

Gaara looked at me.

I felt tears welling up.

"Gaara, please stop…." I whispered.

I didn't want to hurt him.

Gaara held his head and began screaming in pain.

He was trying get rid of his demon form.

"Gaara, you did it for me, and I'm going to return the favor" I said.

Sasuke was wide awake now.

I ran up to Gaara and yelled, "Gaara, calm down!!!"

I held him by the shoulders and kissed him.

Gaara calmed down and transformed back into his human form.

Tears were still streaming down my face.

"Manami…" Gaara whispered.

I don't know why, but I kept kissing him.

Gaara's eyes widened a bit, but wrapped his arms around my waist, deepening the kiss.

I put my hands against his soft cheeks.

We broke away and Gaara wiped my tears away.

"Manami…. I'm… so sorry" Gaara whispered.

I shook my head sadly and hugged him tightly.

"Gaara-kun, please don't do that again… but… I just want you to promise me that you won't give me anymore pain..." I mumbled.

"Of course, but, why?" Gaara whispered.

"You heard me last night… I can't endure any more pain… this is too much" I replied, "Also, you hurt my friends, and… I just don't want any pain to them either."

He nodded and whispered, "I'm sorry"

I walked over to Sasuke, who just saw the whole thing.

He looked away.

"Sasuke. I'm going to have to heal your wounds a bit" I said.

He shook his head.

"Sasuke, please, you're acting like a child. Now, lie down." I said.

He sighed and lied down.

I did a few hand signs and green chakra came out of my hands.

I have been taking some special healing training over the past few weeks.

I'm a fast learner.

I began healing Sasuke.

"So… does that kiss mean that you and Gaara are… well… together?" Sasuke mumbled.

"Who knows…?" I replied.

"Listen, that kiss I got last night… I didn't kiss Sakura. She kissed me. I couldn't break free because she wrapped chakra around me, making me stiff… please, believe me…" Sasuke explained.

When he said that, I felt… kind of relieved.

I sighed and continued healing him.

"Right now… I'm not sure what believe. I've… endured too much pain." I said.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you, Manami" Sasuke said.

**-xx-**

It had been a few days since the third exam.

The third hokage was killed.

Konoha was half destroyed.

But…

Sasuke was the only thing on my mind.

Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke.

I wasn't sure what to do with myself.

All of this was too confusing.

I helped the town people by building their houses.

Every time I saw Gaara or Sasuke, they'd always apologize.

I've been in a depressing mood lately.

I've gone completely **_EMO_**.

Joking.

I don't cut myself.

But, I have been way too sad.

Honestly, I like Gaara and all… but…

I…

I'm in love Sasuke.

I keep trying to hide it.

And today, I'm going to tell him.

I walked around Konoha.

I found Gaara sitting on a bench.

I sat next to him.

"Hey Gaara." I said.

"Hey" He said.

"Listen…"

"It's about Sasuke and me, isn't it?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"And… you picked Sasuke"

I nodded sadly.

He sighed.

"You can't put a stop to your feelings, Manami," He said, "But, I will never,_** ever **_give up on you."

"Even if we were to be together, I live in the sand. You live in the leaf. Long distance relationships are hard to cope with. I'm going to stay here until November comes. I'll be back when it's the 13th, your birthday."

I looked up at him.

"You mean…" I whispered.

"Go and get Sasuke" He smirked.

I smiled at him.

"Thank you so much"

I kissed his cheek and left.

I ran as fast as I could to Sasuke's house.

Trust me, I can run fast.

I banged on the door.

The door opened.

Sasuke was in the doorway.

"Manami!" Sasuke said, surprised.

"S-Sasuke…" I said, panting.

Note to self: Don't run too fast unless it's _**really**_ important.

"Come inside" Sasuke said.

I went in his house and faced him.

"Sasuke, I…" I began.

"I…" I said.

"I know that you've hurt me, but after you explained what happened that might, I felt... relieved... and Sasuke..." I mumbled.

"Sasuke, I've made up my mind"

"Made up your mind for what?" He asked.

"Sasuke Uchiha, for the last few days, I couldn't stop thinking about you. You meant everything to me. You are one of the most important people in my life… and I want to be with you forever… well, what I'm trying to say is… I'm in love with you… and… I want it to stay like that." I said.

Sasuke gave me a warm smile.

He hugged me and I hugged him.

Soon enough, the small gap between our lips had disappeared.

**-xx-**

So far, everything is going great.

During the past few weeks, Sasuke and I have been a couple.

We didn't tell everyone though.

Well, we didn't exactly _**tell**_ them.

They found out.

I mean, if you saw Sasuke around the forest locking lips with me, it's not _**that **_obvious that we're a couple…

Right?

Bah.

Who am I kidding?

It's_** soo**_ obvious.

Right now, it's October 30th.

Oh.

My.

God.

"TOMORROW'S HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!" I screamed.

I ran around my house cheering.

Neji chased after me and calmed me down.

"What's so important about Halloween?" Neji asked.

"I get to scare children" I said.

"O…k….ay…. T… he…. n" Neji mumbled.

"What are you hyperventilating or something? And besides, I'm only joking." I said.

"NO!"

"Whatever"

I left the room.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To Sasuke's house"

"NO! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO HIS HOUSE!!! WHAT IF HE HURTS YOU AGAIN?!?!?" Neji screamed.

I shrugged.

I went upstairs and packed some of my clothing.

I have a slight feeling that I might be staying at his house tonight.

Later, I walked to Sasuke's.

On my way, I bumped into two people I really didn't want to talk to.

Sakura and Ino.

"Oh… hey… you two" I mumbled.

They glared at me.

"Manami. What's this we hear about you and Sasuke?" They sneered.

"What are you talking about?" I said.

"We heard that you and Sasuke are a couple. Is this true?" Ino said.

"Maybe" I said.

After I said that, I ran off.

It'll only cause trouble if they knew.

I reached Sasuke house and knocked on the door.

"Come in" A voice said.

I opened the door to find Sasuke watching the television.

"Konnichiwa, Sasu-chan!!" I said.

"Sasu-chan? What's with the cheesy name?" He asked.

I ran to the couch and hugged him.

"I'm soo happy today!" I said.

"About what?"

"Tomorrow's Halloween!!"

"What's so good about that?"

"I get to scare children"

"O…k…ay… T…he…n…"

"Don't tell me that you're hyperventilating too"

"I'm not"

"Right"

"What's fun about scaring children?"

"I was only joking"

"Oh. So why are you so excited?"

"I love costumes"

"Really?"

"Yeah"

"What are you wearing on Halloween?"

"Who knows? Perhaps I could wear something that'll make you happy… _**very**_ happy" I whispered huskily in his ear.

He blushed madly.

I could tell that he was thinking perverted thoughts.

"Perhaps not… perv…" I said again.

"NO! Uh… I mean… You could wear... anything… uh…" He said.

I smiled to myself.

"Okay. You have to wait until tomorrow to see what I'm wearing"

He sighed.

I stood up, took the phone and called all the girls.

Even Sakura and Ino.

The conversation with Sakura/Ino was a bit like this:

"Hey"

_"Oh. Why are you calling me?"_

"I wanted to tell you about this party I'm having"

_"Who cares about that? WHAT'S WITH YOU AND SASUKE?!?!?"_

"You'll find out soon enough"

_"Ugh."_

"Now, about my party, I want you to come"

_"Why are you inviting me?"_

"I want everyone to come, even you"

_"Oh… right. Is it celebrating Halloween?"_

"Yeah"

_"Is there a theme?"_

"Uh-huh. Girls have to dress up in Lolita dresses. I find those dresses adorable"

_"Okay… where is it held?"_

"Oh… it's held at… _**cough**_ Sasuke's house **_cough_**"

_"OH MY GOD SASUKE-KUUUUN!!!!!!!"_

"You have to calm down. Guys will be wearing vampire styled clothing. Tell the guys that you know."

_"OKAY!!"_

"Bye"

They are now hyped up about going to Sasuke's house.

I hung up and walked to Sasuke.

"What did I hear about a party?" He asked.

"Oh. I'm holding a party for Halloween" I mumbled.

"How many people are coming?"

"Pretty much all the rookies"

"Where is it held?"

"Oh. Um. Well… It's… held… at…. **_cough_** your house **_cough_**"

"WHAT?!?!? THAT MEANS SAKURA AND INO ARE COMING!!!!"

"So…?"

"You know I hate them"

"I know"

"But, you can't hold it here!! I like my privacy!!"

I leaned over and kissed him sweetly.

"Onegai (Please) Sasuke?" I whispered.

He blushed and sighed in defeat.

"Fine…"

I smiled.

"Also, about the costume you're wearing…"

"NO! I am _**not **_wearing a stupid costume!!!!!"

"Please?? The other guys will be dressing up as well!!'

He rolled his eyes.

"Okay! Whatever!!"

"Great! Tomorrow, you're wearing vampire styled clothing"

"Great… tomorrow I'm wearing vampire styled clothing…" He mocked.

"Oh please. Sasuke, you're gonna look great as a vampire."

"How would you know?"

"I'm your girlfriend. I know these things"

"If you're gonna dress me up, you're gonna repay me"

"How?"

"I don't know"

I smirked.

"Perhaps sleeping over here for a few nights is enough"

"Oh? And are you going to sleep on the couch again?"

"No, no, no… I want to stay with my love for tonight"

He smirked.

"Consider it done"

**-xx-**

I crawled into Sasuke's bed later on that night.

I already brushed my teeth and called my brother.

I told Neji that I was going to stay at Sasuke's house again.

He got mad.

I hung up.

See? Dealing with brothers isn't really hard at all!

I covered myself with his blankets.

I could smell Sasuke's scent on it.

I smiled to myself.

Sasuke came out of the bathroom and jumped into the bed.

"Someone's excited tonight" I said.

"Well, this _**is **_the first time you've actually slept in _**my**_ bed with me"

"True thing"

His smile faded away.

"Nani?" I asked.

"Manami, I love you so much. I don't want to lose you, and I just wanted to let you know that I'd… I'd die for you" Sasuke said.

I put my finger on his lips.

"Shh… I don't want you to say that. If I were to die, I want you to be alive and well" I whispered, "And… I love you too."

He hugged me tightly.

"Please don't leave me" He whispered.

"Only if you promise not to leave me"

"I promise"

I smiled softly and kissed him.

"Goodnight" I said.

"Night" He replied.

Then, I fell asleep in his arms.

* * *

_YAY!!! Sorry if this chapter took too long, I was swamped with homework!! TTTT ANYWAYS... Thank you for all those people who have reviewed!!! You make me soo happy when I'm writing each chapter!!! - ARIGATOOOOOO!!! In case you didn't know what "Lolita" is, I suggest you look it up on Wikipedia... It's this style of clothing in japan... IT'S REALLY AWESOME!! LOOK UP SOME IMAGES OF LOLITA DRESSES TOO!! Other than that, Please review!! ARIGATO!_

_Next Chapter preview:_

_A Halloween party is going to be held at Sasuke's house._

_Will Sakura try to gain Sasuke's love (again)?_

_How about Ino?_

_Will Ino (pig) want Sasuke's love?_

_I guarrantee that Ino and Sakura will find out about Sasuke and Manami's love!!_

_What will their reactions be?_

_Will they fight Manami, in order to have Sasuke?_

_ALL WILL BE REVEALED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OF: "MUST BEFRIEND MUST AVENGE MUST LOVE!!!"_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter Fourteen: Halloween Party! Sakura's and Ino's reactions!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!!**

**Manami's POV**

I woke up the next morning as the sun hit my face.

I guessed that Sasuke was hugging me again.

I guessed correctly.

I put his arm away and sat on the edge of the bed.

I studied Sasuke for a moment.

I've noticed that he looks so cute when he's asleep.

I kissed his forehead softly and headed downstairs to prepare breakfast.

As I was scrambling some eggs, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist.

I didn't bother to see who it was.

"Good morning, Manami" The voice said.

"Good morning to you too, Sasuke" I said.

"How did you know it was me?" He asked.

"I think I'd know the sound of my boyfriend's voice and besides, you're the only other person in the house"

"I see…"

I nodded and continued cooking.

"That smells good" Sasuke said.

I nodded again.

"So… when is the party going to start?" He asked.

"Oh. It'll start in the afternoon… I'd suggest you to get into your costume." I said.

**-xx-**

I began setting up the decorations making Sasuke's house look as scary as possible.

Sasuke watched me struggle when I reached for the high places of the house, for example, when I was trying to put a bunch of fake cobwebs on top of the fridge.

He didn't bother helping.

"Sasuke, get into your costume. I laid it out on your bed" I said.

"You're beginning to sound like my mother" Sasuke mumbled.

"Do you want me to help you into your clothes?" I asked slyly.

He blushed slightly.

"N-No… I'll get into them… myself… right now…" He mumbled.

I giggled and continued putting up the decorations while he got into his costume. He struggled.

I heard him groaning and continuously curse at his costume from his room.

I knocked on his bedroom door softly.

"Do you need help?" I asked.

"No, it's fine! Nothing to worry about!!" He replied.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"SHIT, THEY'RE HERE!" I yelled.

Slowly, it opened since I forgot to lock the freaking door.

"SASUKE-KUUUUUUN!!!!" Sakura and Ino screamed.

"Oh boy, I'm hungry! Mm… that smells DELICIOUS!" said Naruto.

"Yeah that does! Did you make it yourself Manami?" asked Lee.

"Uh… yeah I did," I said, sounding a bit embarrassed.

"Is there any ramen?" asked Naruto.

"Obviously. I figured you couldn't go to a party without ramen," I said.

"YAY!" exclaimed Naruto and ran for the kitchen.

"Sasuke-Kun is so CUTE!" said Ino.

"I know, isn't he DREAMY?" said Sakura and they sighed together.

"Hands off he's _**mine**_," I mumbled.

"Yeah right… uh... why would he like you?" scowled Ino.

"Yeah,_**who **_was the one who was able to kiss him? That's right, _**me**_!" scowled Sakura.

"Yeah you were the one keeping him down!" I sneered.

"Oh yeah? How did I?" asked Sakura.

"You were forcing him to kiss you! You were the one who had a low life!" I replied.

Sakura had burst into tears.

_Hah, serves her right for being a suck up…_ I thought.

"Um… I thought we were starting the party," said Rock Lee.

"Oh right, better get some ramen before Naruto eats it all!" I replied and laughed.

We all went to eat the food I had prepared while Sakura was still crying and not even Rock Lee was comforting her.

"Um… Manami? Do you by any chance of having more _**ramen**_?" asked Naruto with his mouth full.

"NARUTO!" everyone yelled.

"What? This stuff is delicious! You know what, I'll get some more…" said Naruto trailing off.

"Oh, Sasuke, are you alright?" I asked Sasuke, when I found him in his room.

He obviously didn't know how to get into a costume.

"Yeah… I'll be fine…" replied Sasuke softly.

"Everyone, please excuse me, just keep eating!" I said to the guests.

"Alright," said Rock Lee.

"NO! IT SHOULD BE _**ME**_ WHO'S WITH SASUKE-KUN!" yelled Sakura, tears gone.

I ignored her and went to Sasuke's room and helped him.

"Thank you…" said Sasuke kissing me lightly on the head.

I blushed. "It's alright, it's nothing," I replied.

It felt really awkward.

"So…" said Sasuke and I at the same time.

Sasuke and I blushed.

"Okay, you should be fine. Just put on your coat and I'll be downstairs" I said.

Once I got there, I found Rock Lee hugging Sakura. At least, that's what it looked like…

"N-Naruto-kun, don't eat so fast…" Hinata said.

"Oh, okay then, Hinata" Naruto said.

"Naruto? You're STILL eating ramen? Geez, how obsessed can you get?" I asked.

"Well, it's just like your obsession with _**Sasuke**_. You can't get enough of it! Just like me and ramen," said Naruto.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHH! Step_** back**_! Naruto's saying_** smart**_ crap!" said Kiba.

"Hmph," said Ino.

"Naruto being _**smart**_? Now that's something you don't see everyday," said Gaara.

I looked around to _**finally**_ notice that everybody was in their costume and I wasn't.

"Oh, excuse me for a minute. I forgot to change into my costume," I said and went upstairs.

I knocked on Sasuke's door so I could change because the guest room was _**filthy**_. He opened the door in his costume.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I need to change into my costume," I said.

"Oh right, here," Sasuke replied leaving the room.

I went into the room and I started changing into my black Lolita dress. I stood in front of the full length mirror. As I was struggling to zip up the back, the door opened and Sasuke came in.

"Oh, gomen, I thought you were gone," Sasuke mumbled, slightly blushing.

"It's alright…" I mumbled.

"Here, let me help you with that zipper," Sasuke said coming towards me.

"Oh… thanks," I replied.

He put one arm around my waist and the other was zipping it up slowly.

I blushed.

Seriously, it was kind of embarrassing, having my boyfriend helping me into my clothes.

_**AWKWARD.**_

"You look cute in that dress," Sasuke mumbled.

"Oh, thanks, you don't look so bad in that vampire costume either." I blushed.

I turned around and we were face to face real close.

I could feel his warm breath tickling my cheek.

His lips brushed against mine.

"Sasuke, we shouldn't be doing this, our guests are downstairs" I whispered.

"It doesn't matter, they already know" He whispered back.

"But Sakura and Ino don't know…" I replied.

"Those two sluts? Who cares what _**they**_ think," whispered Sasuke brushing my hair with his fingertips.

Slowly, he came even closer to me and soon enough, his lips came crashing onto mine.

_Well, there's no point in turning back now. _I thought.

His arms wrapped around my waist and I held his soft cheeks with my hands.

We couldn't stop.

Then the door opened, but we didn't notice.

"SASUKE…kun…?" Two voices said.

Shit.

They know.

I stopped kissing Sasuke and faced the voices.

It was Sakura and Ino.

"S-Sakura! Ino!" I said, surprised.

"Manami, you really _**were**_ with Sasuke-kun…?" Sakura asked.

"Well…" I mumbled.

"What's it to you?" Sasuke said rudely.

"Demo, Sasuke-kun! I love you!!" Sakura said.

"You don't deserve Manami, Sasuke-kun!!" Ino said.

"I do deserve Manami, Ino. You don't know what you're talking about!!" Sasuke yelled.

Sakura and Ino were close to crying.

"Sakura, Ino, I'm so sorry" I said, coming closer to them, _**trying**_ to comfort them.

One thing I hate is when someone hates _**me.**_

Nobody wants anyone hating them.

The two fangirls got really angry.

They both slapped me across my cheek… _**hard**_.

I fell to the ground and winced slightly.

Sasuke ran and hugged me.

"Manami, Daijobu?" He asked.

"H-Hai" I said, rubbing my cheek softly.

"You bakas what do you think you're doing?" Sasuke yelled.

"Gomenasai, Sasuke-_**kuuun**_!" Sakura and Ino screeched.

"You two are the worst" Sasuke sneered.

Sakura and Ino began sobbing loudly.

"Ugh" I mumbled as I stood up.

I headed downstairs to make some more food, since Naruto and Chouji finished half of it.

Soon, Sakura and Ino came down crying their eyes out.

"Sakura, are you okay?" asked Rock Lee.

"I… I… I'm fin- NO I'M NOT!" replied Sakura and cried even harder.

"Ino, are _**you**_ okay?" asked Kiba.

Ino couldn't speak. She just cried.

Lee and Kiba came and comforted the two.

_It would be nice if Ino went with Kiba and Sakura went with Lee… that way, they can get their mind off Sasuke for once. _I thought.

"Hey, quit hogging the ramen Naruto!" yelled Chouji.

"Then quit hogging the Tamasaburo (chocolate) Chouji!" Naruto yelled back.

Soon, they were fighting over _food_.

Gaara was just sitting there quietly.

"Gaara-kun, do **you** want something to eat? Your plate's clean," I asked.

Gaara blushed.

"Gaara-kun…?" I asked again.

"Oh… no, I'm fine," Gaara mumbled.

"Oh… okay then" I said.

I put on some music and everyone got into the vibe of the party.

_Hopefully this night will be enjoyable…_ I thought.

**Sakura's POV**

I sobbed when I found out that Sasuke and Manami was a couple.

It wasn't fair.

_**I'm **_supposed to be with Sasuke.

He's supposed to_** love **_me!

Lee tried to comfort me, but it hurt so badly.

Lee took me out to the front porch.

"Sakura-san, you're going to have to face the fact that Sasuke is with Manami-chan." Lee said.

"I know, Lee-san, but I just love him so much" I said.

I could see Lee hurting in his eyes.

"Sakura-san, it's time you stopped chasing Sasuke around. It's not going to do any good for you. You're only going to get hurt" Lee said.

"I… I know but I can't pretend I don't love him because I _**do**_ and I can't change that fact!" I said with a sniffle.

"Tell me… what makes Sasuke so special he deserves your great love?" Lee asked.

I paused to think.

"Well… he's so cute and bad-ass," I replied and blushed.

"Bad-ass? I can be bad-ass too!" Lee complained.

"Lee, you're sweet, but I love Sasuke. I don't want to break your heart Lee. I mean, we're friends, right?" I asked.

"… Y… Yeah… friends," Lee replied.

I nodded my head.

"But, Sakura-san, I think that you deserve someone who will take care of your needs and who will respect you for who you are… so… please consider my request" Lee mumbled.

"I'll… think about it" I said.

"Honto ni? You will? Oh GREAT! Did you hear that Gai-sensei? She said she'll think about ME not SASUKE!" Lee exclaimed.

I laughed. That Rock Lee is funny, I should consider him…

After that, it went silent and awkward.

I could feel Lee's eyes on me but I continued looking at the ground.

"Should we go back inside?" I asked.

"Yeah… sure" Lee replied. _Damn, I want more time with her!_ He thought.

We both went inside together, side by side.

Lee's hand was barely touching mine and soon, we were holding hands.

I stopped and looked at Lee. Those big eyes were just adorable. How could I say no to him? I mean, Sasuke will never appreciate me. Manami is too much of competition for me. She outshines me every time we're in the same room.

Lee looked back at me. We were still holding hands. It felt… warm…

"S…Sakura-san?" Lee mumbled.

"Yes..?" I replied.

He then closed his eyes and came closer to me.

I could tell that he was going to kiss me…

Well, only one way to find out if he's right for me… the sparks of a kiss.

I closed my eyes too and we became entwined by our lips.

What's this? There weren't sparks. There were FIREWORKS!!

It felt… right!

We were like that for about 5 minutes.

Just when it was getting good, I felt something on my arm…

"MOSQUITO BITE!!!!!" I yelled.

Lee jumped.

"Itchy, itchy, itchy, ITCHY!" I yelled.

It was so ANNOYING.

It was the worst time to be bitten too.

I felt Lee's finger against my lips.

"Perhaps this will make it feel better…" Lee whispered.

He kissed me once more and this time he French kissed me.

I forgot all about the mosquito bite.

**Ino's POV**

I started dancing with Kiba, for some odd reason until I found Rock Lee and Sakura lip locking.

My jaw dropped. I guess now I have Sasuke to myself… except for that Manami girl…

"Oh my gosh, look out at Sakura and Lee!!" I said.

Kiba turned around. His expression was just too funny to put into words.

"WHAT THE HELL MAN?!?!?" Kiba yelled.

I laughed.

Kiba was a great guy, but I just wanted Sasuke so badly.

Kiba turned to look at me.

"So…" said Kiba.

"So…" I said.

"Why are you so crazy about Sasuke?" Kiba asked.

"I love his looks and his attitude. It's so bad-ass" I swooned.

"Have you ever thought about any other guy?" Kiba asked.

"What?! No!" I yelled.

"Well, I have thought about you" Kiba said.

I was shocked.

"N-Nani?" I said.

"You really feel _**that **_way about me?" I asked.

"Well… yeah. You _**are **_kind of… cute" Kiba mumbled.

"Honto ni?"

"Yeah"

"Well, that's really sweet of you"

"It's time for you to let go of Sasuke. You do know that he's got strong feeling for Manami-chan"

"Oh yeah… Manami"

"But I don't want to give up"

"You deserve someone better than him. You deserve someone who will love you back"

"What make you like me so much?"

"You're pretty and you have great fighting skills. Whenever I hear your name, it makes me smile"

"How sweet of you…"

Kiba reached for my hand and held it softly.

"Kiba… what are you doing?" I asked.

"Ino, I've been thinking, why chase after Sasuke? He's only going to break your heart" Kiba replied.

"But… I love him so—"

He cut me off by kissing me.

He broke away and said, "Please don't say that"

"But I…" I began.

"Ino, I want appreciate you for who you are. I hope one day you'll appreciate me" Kiba said.

I thought about it.

It's true that Sasuke was never going to love me. I guess Manami has won the war.

"I think," Kiba said, "That it's time for you to be genuinely happy for once"

I smiled.

"Oh Kiba, I suppose you're right." I said.

Then I gave him a small kiss.

This is goodbye, Sasuke.

**Manami's POV**

People began dancing and I saw something I didn't expect to see.

Sakura kissing Lee?

Ino kissing Kiba?

WHOA.

This is getting a _**bit**_ strange.

I walked to Sakura.

"Anou… Sakura? Did I miss something?" I asked.

Sakura stopped kissing and looked at me.

She gave me a warm smile.

"Manami, I've decided that you've won. You can keep Sasuke-kun. I have Lee-san." Sakura said.

I smiled.

"I feel happy for you, Sakura" I said.

I walked to Ino.

"Ino, aren't you in love with Sasuke?" I asked.

She looked at me and sighed.

"Manami, I give up. You can have Sasuke-kun. I have Kiba. He appreciates me for who I am!" Ino beamed.

I smirked.

"Well, have a good time with him then!" I said.

I walked over to Sasuke, who was talking to Kankuro.

I nudged him.

"Hm?" He asked.

"Check out Sakura and Ino" I smirked.

He saw them and his eyes widened.

"Does this mean that they'll be off my back now?" He asked.

"I guess so"

"Who did that? Did you set them up or something?"

"Nope"

"So it was Kiba and Lee?'

"Uh-huh"

"I've gotta thank them"

I nodded and laughed.

Sasuke wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"So… do you know what this means?" Sasuke whispered in my ear.

"This means that I have you all to myself." I replied.

"Exactly"

He kissed my forehead.

**-xx-**

I wasn't sure what happened, but I found myself sitting next to Sasuke in a big circle, including the other rookies.

"Eh?" I said.

I looked at my surroundings.

There was a bottle in the middle of the circle.

"Oh no…" I mumbled.

"IT'S TIME FOR TRUTH OR DARE!!!!!" The girls screamed, excluding Hinata.

The circle's order was: Temari, Shikamaru, Gaara, Kankuro, Kiba, Ino, Sakura, Lee, Tenten, Neji, Chouji, Shino, Hinata, Naruto, Sasuke and me.

"Maybe, I'll just back out of this one" I said.

"C'mon Manami-chan, everyone is playing, even Sasuke!!" Naruto whined.

"Sasuke?! You're playing truth or dare?"

Sasuke nodded his head slowly.

"I was getting a bit bored." He said.

"Okay," I said, "Fine. I'll play"

Naruto cheered and spun the bottle.

It first landed on Naruto.

"Okay, Naruto, Truth or dare?" I asked.

"DARE!!!" He yelled.

"I dare you to kiss Hinata-sama on the lips" I said.

"Onee-san!!!" Hinata said.

I laughed as Naruto leant over and kissed her.

Her face was as red as a tomato.

I could see a slight tint of pink on Hinata's face.

Next, the bottle landed on Chouji!

"Truth or dare?" Naruto asked.

"_**munch**_Truth _**munch**_" He said.

"How much do you weigh now?" Naruto asked.

"About… 200lbs" He mumbled.

The bottle spun again and it landed on Gaara.

"Truth or Dare…?" Chouji mumbled.

"Truth" Gaara replied.

"Do you like anyone in this room?" Chouji asked.

"… Yes" Gaara mumbled.

Sasuke kept glancing at me.

I felt heat rush to my cheeks.

The bottle spun again and it landed on Sasuke.

"Truth or Dare?" Gaara asked.

"Dare." Sasuke smirked.

I saw Sasuke place his hand over mine.

"I dare you to kiss Manami." He said.

"That's too easy of a dare, besides… it's kind of embarrassing to kiss in front of this many people" I said.

"I reckon these people would like to see you two kiss:" Gaara said, crossing his arms.

"YEAH! I WANNA SEE YOU TWO KISS!!!" Naruto shouted.

I looked at Sakura and Ino.

They nodded and grinned.

I sighed.

"So, are we gonna kiss?" Sasuke asked.

I nodded and smirked.

He leant over and kissed me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and he held my waist.

Everyone went: "Oooooh" or "Throw a bucket of water over them!" or "Hell yeah!!"

I was just a kiss.

A kiss between two people who love each other.

No big deal.

We broke away and I said, "Happy now?"

Everyone nodded, even Hinata and Gaara.

And… surprisingly, My brother nodded too.

I smiled.

**-xx-**

It was 11:30pm and everyone was leaving.

Gaara, Hinata, Naruto, Kiba and Lee stayed behind to help Sasuke and me to clean up.

I walked over to Gaara.

"So… Gaara-kun, you're going back to Suna tomorrow?" I asked.

"Yeah" He nodded.

"You're coming back on my birthday, right?"

"Of course"

"Good"

We continued cleaning up until the house was good and I fell asleep in Sasuke's bed.

**-xx-**

I waited at the Konoha gates.

The sand siblings were there.

"Well, this is goodbye. I'll see you in another 13 days!" I said.

They nodded.

"Oh, and Kankuro?" I asked.

"Yeah?" Kankuro said.

"You remember when you peeked at me?" I asked.

"O-Oh... Y-Yeah…" He stuttered.

"You owe me," I said, "You have to give me a really nice present for my birthday since you peeked."

"What type of present?" Kankuro asked.

"A pretty one. If you don't give me one, I'll kill you" I joked.

"Oh fine. Whatever. You'll get a nice present…" He mumbled.

I laughed and waved goodbye.

Temari and Kankuro went ahead, leaving Gaara slightly behind them.

"Well," I said to Gaara, "I'll see you soon"

He nodded.

"Keep that red necklace with you" I said.

"I will"

I hugged him.

"Jaa ne"

* * *

_Sorry if this chapter took toooooooo long!!! I had too much homework to deal with and my internet's running a bit slow... GOMENASAI!!! Please take your time to review!! When you review it makes meee soooo happpyy!! Also, Once this story is finished, I'm planning to make a sequel, so look out for that once this is done!!_

_Chapter Fifteen Preview:_

_November 13th._

_My birthday._

_Another Party is to be dealt with._

_Oh joy._

_I've noticed how many times I've had a party this year._

_To me, all parties are the same._

_But this is going to be my first teenage year._

_I'll be turning 13._

_And I'll be celebrating it with my boyfriend, my best friend and other great friends._

_Thanks to Sasuke and Gaara, my life has been turned around._

_**Please review!! It's not too hard either!! Arigato gozaimashita for reading this far!! Jaa ne!**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter Fifteen: Manami's Birthday! A new mission?!?**_

**Author's Note:**

**BTW, c3cii helped me with my last chapter. ARIGATO, c3cii-chan!! She's a great friend!! Now, ON WITH THE STORY!!!**

**Manami's Point Of View**

November 13th.

My birthday.

Another party to be dealt with.

Oh joy.

I've noticed how many times I've had a party this year.

To me, all parties are the same.

But this is going to be my first teenage year.

I'll be turning 13.

And I'll be celebrating it with my boyfriend, best friend and my other great friends.

Thanks to Sasuke and Gaara, my life had been turned around.

I woke up that next morning, realizing that it was my birthday.

Time flies by.

I did my morning routine.

It was kind of quiet without Temari, Kankuro and Gaara around…

Just then, the phone rang.

Picked it up and said, "Hello?"

_"Hey Manami, it's me, Sasuke"_

"Oh, hey Sasuke."

_"Happy birthday"_

"Gee, thanks but is it really necessary to have another party?"

_"It's really up to you. You're the birthday girl"_

"Calling me the 'birthday girl' makes me feel young…"

_"Isn't that good?"_

"I don't know"

_**//beep beep//**_

"Oh, um… I gotta put you on hold, there's another call."

_"Okay"_

I put Sasuke on hold and took the other call.

"Hello?"

_"Manami, it's me, Kakashi"_

"Kakashi-sensei? How'd you get my number?"

_"That doesn't matter now. You have to meet me at the Konoha gates A.S.A.P. We have a mission"_

"Mission? But… it's my…"

_"…Birthday I know. I'm sorry Manami. Tell Sasuke to meet me at the gates too. Team 7 will be doing this mission together"_

"Uhm… okay"

_"Good. See ya there"_

I put Sasuke off hold.

"Sasuke?"

_"Yeah?"_

"We have a new mission"

_"Eh? But it's your birthday"_

"I know, but Kakashi just called and he told me to meet him at the Konoha gates, including you"

_"How'd Kakashi get your number?"_

"I have no idea"

_"Well, I'll meet you at the gates then."_

"Okay. Jaa ne"

I woke my brother up.

"Neji-nii, I'm going on a mission. I'll be back soon" I said.

"Who's coming?" Asked Neji.

"Team 7."

"If Sasuke hurts you, call me. I'll be sure to kill him."

"Nii-san… I didn't ask you to kill him and I never will"

He sighed in defeat.

"Okay… but… call me. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah"

**-xx-**

I met Sasuke at the gates.

"Hey Sasuke." I said.

"Hi. Happy birthday" He smirked.

"You already said that" I mumbled.

"I know." He said.

Sakura and Naruto arrived five minutes later.

"Hey guys"

"OHAYO MANAMI-CHAAAAN!!!" yelled Naruto.

"Konnichiwa, Manami-san and Sasuke-kun" said Sakura.

"Ohayo, Sakura and Naruto-kun" I said.

"Hn" Sasuke said.

"Hello team, good to see that you're all here" A voice said.

We all turned around to find Kakashi and… a princess?!?

"EH?!" I said.

"Hm? What's the matter?" asked Kakashi.

"Nothing… it's just that you're… **_early_**" I mumbled.

"Yes, well, this is a B ranked mission and I couldn't leave this princess waiting, now could I?" Kakashi said rubbing the back of his head.

I nodded slowly.

I studied the princess for a moment.

She looked around the same age as us.

She looked _**kind of**_ pretty… but still looked like any other princess. Rich and snobby.

"Team 7, this is Hanako-hime (princess)" said Kakashi.

"Well, team, introduce yourselves" Kakashi said.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the next Hokage of the hidden leaf, dattebayo!!" yelled Naruto

Hanako looked at all of us and gave us some… criticism

"You look so stupid. You look like a **_huge_** idiot" Hanako snorted, looking at Naruto.

"Oh, I'm Haruno Sakura, and I'm pleased to meet you" Sakura said.

"Oh, my God! You have got to be kidding me! Pink hair and a big forehead? You are one _**ugly**_ ninja" Hanako scowled when she saw Sakura.

"Hyuga Manami" I mumbled.

"Ew." Was all Hanako said when she looked at me.

She saw Sasuke and had hearts for eyes.

"Uchiha Sasuke" Sasuke mumbled.

"OH MY GOD!!! YOU LOOK SOOOOO _**HOT**_!!! I'M SOOO IN LOVE WITH YOU!!!" squealed Hanako, looking at Sasuke.

Sasuke glared at her.

Maybe he glared at her because she thought I was '_**ew**_'?

**-xx-**

"Shoot me" I said to Sasuke.

"No. It's your birthday" He replied.

"Shoot me" I said to Sasuke.

"No… and please stop saying that" He replied.

"Shoot me" I said to Sasuke.

"No, I love you too much for you to die" He replied.

There was silence.

"Shoot me" I mumbled.

"Manami, don't you see that I want to die too?" Sasuke asked.

He clearly wanted to die because Hanako kept clinging onto him.

"Sasuke-kuuun!! I love you!! Do you love me?" asked Hanako.

"Let go of me" He mumbled.

"Demo, Sasuke-kuuun… you _**must**_ like someone… ne?" Hanako asked, letting go of Sasuke.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do like someone here" Sasuke said… rather _**proudly**_, might I add.

Hanako's eyes beamed. "Honto ni?" She asked.

He nodded and walked over to me.

Sakura and Naruto grinned at me.

"Oh shit" I mouthed to them.

_This is going to be embarrassing… _I thought.

Sasuke wrapped his arm around my waist.

"EH!?!?!?" Hanako screamed, "SASUKE-KUUUN!!!! YOU LIKE MANAMI-TEME!?!??"

"No…" Sasuke said, "I love her"

Heat began rushing to my cheeks.

"NO WAY!!! SASUKE-KUUUN IS SUPPOSED TO LOVE MEEEE!!!!" Hanako screamed.

"Sasuke, why did you have to say that?" I mumbled under my breath.

"So she could get off me. What, you _**want**_ her to cling on me?" He smirked.

"No." I mumbled.

"Exactly" Sasuke replied.

Before we began an argument, Hanako screamed out something that she was probably going to _**regret**_.

"PROVE IT!!! _**PROVE**_ THAT BOTH OF YOU ARE IN LOVE!!!!!!!" She screamed once again.

Sasuke smirked.

I gasped.

Too late.

Sasuke placed his lips over mine.

Seriously, who kisses in _**public**_?

Hanako gasped.

"NO!!!!!!!" cried Hanako.

He broke away from me and smirked.

"Poor Hanako" Sasuke whispered sarcastically.

I shook my head.

"Yes… poor, _**poor **_Hanako" I mumbled.

**-xx-**

Sasuke stayed as close to me as possible.

Every time Hanako tried to cling onto Sasuke, he would just dodge, and sling his arm over my shoulder.

"By the way, Kakashi-sensei, where are we going to travel to?" I asked Kakashi.

"We'll be taking Hanako-hime to the village of the clouds" Kakashi replied.

"I didn't even know that there was a princess in that village" I mumbled.

Hanako cried, "Well it's obvious that you, _**Manami-teme**_, don't know anything!!!!"

I scoffed.

"Please, I know much more than you when it comes to Sasuke" I replied.

"Hmph" She replied.

We kept walking through the forest.

I know how far the cloud village is.

It could take a few days to reach there.

It was probably around three o' clock.

It _**seemed **_like a sunny day, but I didn't notice the clouds that were forming in the sky.

About five minutes later rain began pouring on all of us.

Just because of the rain, Hanako began screaming as if she were going to die.

I, on the other hand, really **_was_** going to die.

As soon as the rain hit my skin, I screamed in pain.

Everyone turned to me quickly.

Sasuke cursed and ran over to help me.

"Daijobu Manami?" Sasuke asked.

"Chikushou (Damn it)…" I cried.

"Kakashi-sensei, we have to take shelter now" said Sasuke.

I fell to the ground as tears began streaming down my face.

I could feel my skin burning.

"WHO? WHAT? WHY? WHEN? WHERE?????" Kakashi yelled.

"MANAMI!!! DEMON!!! WATER TAKES OUT FIRE!!! RIGHT NOW!!! IN THE FREAKING FOREST DAMMIT!!!" Sasuke screamed.

"Nice answering skills" Kakashi said.

"This is no time to be joking around _**Kakashi**_!!" Sasuke yelled.

"Okay, okay! Let's go and find an inn or take shelter here in tents" said Kakashi.

**Sasuke's Point of View**

I picked up Manami and carried her bridal style.

We went as fast as we could to find an inn or something.

Manami's eyes were closed and tears were running down her cheeks.

"Chikushou…" I whispered.

I didn't expect Manami to be this weak when it comes to rain.

Sakura and Naruto came beside me.

"Sasuke-kun, what happened to Manami?" asked Sakura.

"Sasuke-teme, YOU BETTER NOT HAVE DONE ANYTHING BAD TO HER!!!" Naruto yelled.

"Tch. Baka. I didn't do anything to her" I mumbled.

_Only a few more minutes, Manami….Hold on… _I thought.

I stared at Manami as we were running to an inn.

She didn't look well at all.

**-xx-**

Later, we checked in a room for Manami.

"Okay, we'll have 3 rooms. I'll have one, two for another and three for the remaining room" said Kakashi.

"Who's gonna have which room?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi began, "Room one: Me. Room two:—"

"WHY DO YOU HAVE A ROOM TO YOURSELF?!?!?" screamed Naruto.

"This sounds crazy, but I agree with him" Sakura said.

"Room two:" Kakashi continued, "Sakura, Naruto and Hanako. Room three: Sasuke and Manami"

I smirked.

This was better than I thought.

Hanako burst in tears and began yelling at Kakashi.

I rolled my eyes. I carried Manami to our room.

When I placed her on the bed, she began sleeping.

I sighed as Hanako whined and complained.

"WHY DOES MANAMI-TEME GET TO BE CARRIED BY SASUKE-KUUUN" She screamed.

"Baka fangirl…" I murmured.

"NANI!?!? SASUKE-KUUUN, DID YOU SAY 'BAKA MANAMI'???" Hanako yelled once more.

"Iie. I said 'baka fangirl'" I mumbled.

"You… think I'm an idiot?" asked Hanako.

"Obviously" I replied.

"Well… you can go and act _**amorous**_ with Manami-teme!! I STILL LOVE YOU!!" screamed Hanako.

"I wish I could act amorous with her, but we're only thirteen. I'm surprised that you even know that word." I said.

"Does that mean that you love me?" asked Hanako.

"No" I said.

**Manami's Point of View**

**-xx-**

I woke up to find myself in a dark room.

"Eh?" I whispered.

I sat up and I felt pain surge throughout my body.

I winced.

Sasuke woke up quickly and asked me, "Manami, daijobu?"

I nodded slowly.

"So… you were sleeping next to me the whole time?" I asked.

He nodded.

It was midnight.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"We're in an inn. We'll be heading out tomorrow. You should get some rest." Sasuke explained.

"Wakarimashita (I understand)" I said.

**-xx-**

The next day I woke up and knocked on Sakura's, Naruto's and Hanako's room door.

Big mistake.

Big, _**big**_ mistake.

The door slammed open and I heard a screeching voice.

"GOOD MORNING, SASUKE-KUUU—Oh. It's just you _**teme**_" Hanako sneered.

"Nice to see you too" I mumbled.

I brushed past Hanako and entered the room.

Sakura and Naruto were practically crying.

"What happened?" I asked.

"HANAKO WON'T STOP SCREAMING!!!" Naruto screamed.

'Look who's talking' is what I wanted to say, but that would probably make the atmosphere worse.

"She keeps complaining and whining because she wants to be with Sasuke-kun" Sakura sniffed.

I nodded and comforted them, until it was time to go.

I walked back to Sasuke, who was still lying on the bed.

He was awake, though.

"Good morning, Sasuke" I said.

"Morning" He replied.

"Some thirteenth birthday this was" I mumbled.

"It could've been better, but -baka- Hanako had to be our stupid mission." Murmured Sasuke.

**-xx-**

Three days had passed.

Who knew that the cloud village was so far from Konoha?

"We're almost there We're almost there We're almost there…" Hanako sang.

I sighed in desperation.

_PLEASE GOD, JUST GET RID OF THIS IDIOT!!! _I screamed mentally.

**-xx-**

We reached the cloud village and stood in front of the cloud castle.

Hanako opened the door and ran inside to her mother, father and… Brother?

Her brother seemed to be the same age as Hanako.

"Konnichiwa, okaa-sama (mother), otou-sama (father) and nii-san (brother)!!" Hanako yelled.

"Ohayo, Hanako-chan, please, do introduce us to your protectors" The queen smiled.

Protectors? Whatever.

"This is Naruto, Sakura, Manami -teme-, Kakashi and SASUKE-KUUUN!!!" Hanako said.

"I am pleased to meet you all" The king said.

"The pleasure is ours" Kakashi smiled.

I rolled my eyes.

"By the way, I'm Keria Sorea, this is my husband, Arashi Sorea, My son, Keitaro Sorea, and you already know our daughter" The queen said.

We all nodded.

When I looked at Keitaro, he seemed to be smirking at me.

I looked confused for a moment.

Naruto and Sakura wandered around the huge room.

"Sugoi… (Amazing, cool, incredible... etc.) There are so many portraits in this room" Naruto mumbled.

"Hai. Each portrait cost over 20,000 yen" The king said.

"Whoa" Sakura whispered.

Keitaro walked over to me said slung his arm over my shoulder.

Sasuke's and my eyes widened.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Hey, you must be Manami. You wanna be my bride?" He smirked.

"Eh?!??" Sasuke and I yelled.

"NO! NO! NOOOOOOOO WAY!!!" I screamed.

**Keitaro's Point of View**

I stopped smirking when she didn't want to be my bride.

Who wouldn't want to fall for me?

"Hey, you, back off" The guy next to Manami said.

"You must be Sasuke" I said.

"Yeah, I am. Now get off of my girlfriend" He said.

"Girlfriend?" I asked.

"Yeah, _**Girlfriend**_. Now back off!" yelled Sasuke.

I put away my arm from her shoulder.

"One day, Manami will love me and be my bride" I said.

"Bring it on" Sasuke said, glaring at me.

I looked at the orange clothed guy.

He was extremely close to one of the portraits.

He looked like a complete_** idiot**_.

_He looks like the type of person who'd break one of these portraits easily…_ I thought.

I walked to him and slapped him on the back hard enough to push him.

"Hey, you must be Naruto. The name fits you. Welcome to our castle" I smiled.

He grinned back but fell onto one of the portraits.

He broke the bottom half of it.

"OH NO!!!" He yelled.

"BAKA NARUTO!!" The pink haired girl yelled, whilst thumping him on the head.

My mother, father and sister gasped.

"THAT PORTRAIT COSTED 25,000 YEN!!!!" Hanako screamed.

"Well, it looks like you're going to pay it off" The king said.

"Demo, we don't have that type of money!" Manami argued.

"Well, you're going to have to work for us until you have paid the debt off" The queen explained.

"EH!??!?" They all said.

"We have certain uniforms that workers have to wear. Males will be working as chefs. Females will be working as _**maids**_." The queen said.

"_**MAIDS**_!!!" Manami yelled.

I was quite happy that time.

I know what the uniforms look like.

They would _**totally**_ fit Manami perfectly, if you get my drift.

My whole plan was to make Naruto destroy that portrait so that Manami and her team could stay. Then, I will somehow make Manami fall in love with me and she'll break up with Sasuke-teme and marry me. Then, we'll all live happily ever after…

Everything will happen the way I want it to… Because I _**always**_ get what I want.

_**Perfect**_.

* * *

_YATTA!!! Chapter fifteen is FINISHED AT LAST!!! - I'm sorry if this came out late, schools getting... a bit awkward. SOO MUCH FREAKING HOMEWORK, and MY FAMILY WANTS TO USE THE COMPUTER TOO!!! TT-TT I'M SO SAAAAD!!! Anyways, please review!! Also, read c3cii's story about UCHIHA-SAN!! _

_It's maaaad!!!111!!!11eleventy-one!!_

_Chapter preview:_

_My clothes..._

_They're Lolita?_

_And... short?_

_THESE ARE THE UNIFORMS FOR FEMALES!?!?!?_

_PLEASE!! IT BARELY COVERS MY BUTT!!_

_Damn that prince to hell._

_I know he's up to something._


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter Sixteen: Escape now!! The prince is serious?**_

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!!**

**Manami's Point of View**

Pay it off?

HOW?!??

I am _**not**_working for that stupid prince.

"Oh well, guess we're working for them until we pay the debt off" Kakashi shrugged.

"Kakashi, you _**idiot**_" I murmured under my breath.

Just then, I heard my phone ring.

I picked it up.

"Moshi, Moshi? (Hello)" I said.

_"Manami, where are you? I'm waiting for you. It's been days"_ A voice said.

"Gaara!! What are you doing in Konoha?" I asked.

_"It's your birthday"_ Gaara said.

"Oh, right. But… uhm… it's been three days"

_"I have been waiting for you for three days"_

"Thank you so much, Gaara-kun, demo, I think I'll be gone for a while."

_"How long is 'a while'?" _

"A few weeks…"

_"But, why?"_

"Etou… Naruto-kun broke something very important and now we have to pay it off by working."

_"What did he break?"_

"A portrait"

_"And… where did this happen?"_

"The village of the cloud's castle"

_"Castle? Let me guess… you had to escort a princess and she… fell for Sasuke"_

"Uh-huh. Not only that, but she has a brother who wants to marry me"

_"No. I am __**not**__ letting you get married with a spoilt prince.. I'm going to tell your brother about this"_

"Iie! Chotto matte!! (Wait a second)"

I heard my brother yelling to Gaara, yelling things like: "MARRIED?!?!? SHE'S ONLY THIRTEEN!!" and, "WHO IS THIS BASTARD THAT WANT MY SISTER!??!!?"

I sighed.

Neji took the phone and screamed, _"GET AWAY FROM THAT STUPID PRINCE, NOW!!"_

"No can do, Neji-nii. If I run away from him, the leaf village and the cloud village could become enemies" I explained.

He sighed in defeat.

_"If he hurts you, or tries anything bad, call me." _

"Hai, hai…"

We said our good byes and hung up.

"Please come this way and I'll show you your uniforms. Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun and Kakashi-kun, follow the king and he'll show you the uniforms.

We nodded.

Sakura and I followed the queen into a bedroom.

"This is where you will be staying. All workers live in the castle. We have two bedrooms, one for the boys, and the other for the females." The queen explained.

"I see" Sakura said.

"The uniforms are laid on the bed. Please meet us in the dining room after you change." Keria said.

"Hai" Sakura and I nodded.

**-xx-**

My clothes…

They're Lolita?

And… short…?

THESE ARE THE UNIFORMS FOR FEMALES!?!?!?

PLEASE!! IT BARELY COVERS MY BUTT!!

Damn that prince to hell.

I know he's up to something.

Sakura was blushing.

"I'm guessing that you normally don't wear this type of clothing…?" I asked her.

"Iie…" She mumbled.

We walked out and met everyone else in the dining room.

I swore I could've seen Sasuke and Keitaro having a slight nosebleed.

"Etou… Your highness, Isn't there a uniform that is a bit … less revealing…?" I asked quietly.

"Gomen, Manami-chan, those were the only uniforms left" Keria said.

I sighed softly.

"Chikushou…" I muttered.

"These uniforms are slightly embarrassing to be wearing…" Sakura said.

"I agree" I nodded.

Sasuke wrapped his arm around my waist and whispered, "I kinda like it"

I shivered and felt heat rushing to my cheeks.

"Good for you…" I replied.

"You may start your work right away" Arashi, the king, said.

I nodded in defeat and walked off with Sakura.

We ended up in the hallway.

"Where do we start with this castle?" I asked Sakura.

"Beats me" She shrugged.

"Let me show you the way, my sweet" A voice said.

I turned around to find… Keitaro.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"I want to marry you, but you don't. I'll find a way to make you fall for me." Keitaro smirked.

"Sakura, you go and follow Kakashi and the others. Clean up the kitchen" Keitaro ordered.

"H-Hai" Sakura said as she followed Kakashi.

"And where do I clean?" I muttered.

"You can go clean my _**bedroom**_" Keitaro smirked.

"That sound so wrong, in so many different ways" I said.

Keitaro got angry and pinned me against the wall.

"Listen, Manami-chan, I _**want**_ you to be my beloved bride. I _**want**_ you to dump Sasuke-teme. I _**want**_ you to love _**me**_" He said.

"You can't always get what you want, baka" I sneered.

"Oh? Well, let's see about that" Keitaro smirked.

Keitaro pressed his lips over mine.

My eyes widened.

I kicked him in the gut.

"DON'T YOU _**EVER**_ DO THAT AGAIN!!" I screamed.

He yelled, "GUARDS!!"

I gasped as five guards surrounded me.

"KEITARO, YOU BASTARD!!" I screamed.

Soon enough, the queen and king came to us.

"What is going on here?" The king asked.

"Manami-chan kicked me in the gut" Keitaro said.

"Manami-chan! You can't hurt our son, it is unforgivable! You will stay in the dungeon until further notice." The queen said.

"You will _**pay**_ Keitaro" I sneered.

Keitaro smirked.

I was dragged to the dungeon by the guards.

The practically threw me in the dark cell.

I ran to the bars and screamed at them, "LET ME OUT OF HERE YOU IDIOTS!!"

They ignored me and walked out.

I shook the bars with my hands and I was shocked.

I was _**literally**_ shocked.

Electricity ran through my body and I yelled in pain.

I let go of the bars quickly.

"Itai…" I whispered.

_ This is a pretty powerful cell, but I could easily break it down... demo, I don't waste my chakra. They're bound to let me out soon..._ I thought.

**-xx-**

It had been hours since I was thrown in the filthy cell.

"Chikushou, Chikushou, CHIKUSHOU!!" I yelled as I punched the wall.

"Damn that prince. DAMN HIM!!" I yelled once more.

"You'll hurt yourself if you keep doing that" A voice said.

I could recognize that voice anywhere.

"Sasuke?" I murmured.

I turned around.

He was in front of the cell.

"I heard what happened. Keitaro said that you kicked him in the gut. Nice work" Sasuke smirked.

"What else did he say?" I asked.

"That's all he said. Is there something that I should know? I mean, surely, you must've kicked him for a reason, right?" asked Sasuke.

"Well, yeah. I did kick him for a reason. He… kissed me." I mumbled.

"Nani? He kissed you? I'm honestly not surprised." Sasuke said, almost smiling.

"You seem awfully calm for the fact that Keitaro kissed me" I said.

Sasuke smirked.

"Who wouldn't want to kiss you? I'm just glad that you're my girl" He said.

I smirked.

"That's nice to know" I mumbled.

Just then, two guards unlocked the cell door.

"You are free to go but please, Manami-san, meet Keitaro in his room. He also asked if Sasuke-san would meet him there as well" One guard said.

"We will guide you there" The other guard said.

We both nodded, unsure what was going to happen.

Seriously in his _**room**_? It sounds so dirty. But, to bring Sasuke as well?

…

Is Keitaro gay?

As Sasuke and I were walking down the hallway (with the guards in front of us), I was worried.

"Do you think Keitaro's gay?" I asked.

"What made you think that?" Sasuke said.

"Well, he wants to meet you in _**his room**_" I mumbled.

"Good point, but I think he might want to fight me for you" Sasuke explained.

"I see…" I said.

"Don't worry, if we're going to fight, I'll be sure to win" Sasuke said.

I smiled softly as Sasuke's fingers entwined with mine.

We reached Keitaro's room and found Keitaro sitting in a big chair, smirking as we entered.

"Hello Manami-chan, my sweet and the other person who is with her" Keitaro mumbled.

"Idiot" I scowled.

"Manami-chan, you shouldn't use such language in front of your future love" Keitaro smirked.

I punched him in the face… _**hard**_.

"GET OVER YOURSELF!! DON'T BE SO FULL OF IT!!" I yelled.

Keitaro rubbed his face.

"Fierce one, aren't you?" Keitaro smirked once more.

Sasuke held me back.

"It isn't worth it" Sasuke said.

I calmed down.

"You should know by now that I would never fall for you. I hate people who are spoilt and stuck-up. Just like _**you**_." I sneered.

**Keria's (The Queen) Point Of View**

I was walking down the hallway.

_Why would Manami-chan want to hurt Keitaro? _I thought.

As I walked past Keitaro's room, I heard a voice.

It sounded like Manami.

"You should know by now that I would never fall for you. I hate people who are spoilt and stuck-up. Just like you." The voice said.

I opened the door slightly so I could see what was going on.

Fortunately, no one heard the door creak.

Sasuke was in there with Keitaro as well.

"Oh really? I wonder what will happen if Sasuke doesn't love you anymore… Manami-chan" Keitaro said.

Manami turned to Sasuke.

"That's impossible. I love Sasuke and he loves me. There's no way you could break a bond like that" Manami said.

_I didn't know that. Well, Manami and Sasuke are in love. That's cute._ I thought.

"We'll see what he has to say to this" Keitaro smirked.

Keitaro pushed Manami against the wall.

"Hey! Get your hands off her!!' Sasuke yelled.

Keitaro ignored him and kissed her.

Erm… Hardcore much?

I gasped and slammed the door opened.

"KEITARO HOW DARE YOU HURT MANAMI! YOU GET OFF HER RIGHT THIS INSTANT YOUNG MAN!!" I yelled.

Keitaro instantly let go of Manami.

"SHE KISSED ME FIRST!!" Keitaro gulped.

"That's not what I saw. I know that Manami-chan and Sasuke-kun is a couple. How dare you interfere with their love!!!" I nagged.

"Gomenasai, okaa-sama…" Keitaro murmured, not looking at me and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Sumimasen (Sorry -polite way-), Manami-chan, because of my reckless son, You have dealt with unsatisfying situations. I very sorry. You don't have to work for us anymore." I said.

Manami nodded slowly.

"R-Right. Uhm… I'll just go and get my team now. C'mon, Sasuke." Manami said.

Sasuke held Manami's hand and walked out of the room.

"Keitaro. You know what I always say to you, right?" I asked.

"Yes, okaa-sama. 'Never interfere in another's love. It will never bring happiness to anyone' You always say that." Keitaro said.

"Exactly. You will receive severe punishments from now on" I said.

"Hai okaa-sama." He mumbled.

**-xx-**

Team 7 was at the doors of the castle.

"BYE-BYE SASUKE-KUUUN!!! I'LL MISS YOU!!!! I'LL LOVE YOU FOREVER!!!!" My daughter screamed.

"Our daughter is pretty fond of that Uchiha boy" Arashi, my husband, said.

"Well, I can't blame her. Sasuke-kun is a very handsome boy. It's nice to know that he's found a true love" I said.

"Who is this 'true love'?" Arashi asked.

I replied, "Hyuga Manami"

**Manami's Point Of View**

**-xx-**

"So, tell me again, _**why**_ we were set free?" asked Naruto.

"Keitaro got caught for doing some impolite things to me" I said.

"Right… Anyways, it's been three days, and I think we should celebrate your birthday when we get back to Konoha" Sakura suggested.

"No thanks, even if it were my birthday, I don't feel like having a party…" I mumbled.

"What about just hanging out? You know, maybe… sitting by the lake? We could bring the other rookies as well" Sakura asked.

"You know what?" I said, "I think that would be great"

Sakura smiled.

"Sasuke, you've been a bit quiet lately. What's wrong?" I asked.

"It feels like my heart is aching." Sasuke mumbled.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It hurts to see Keitaro doing that stuff to you" He explained.

"Oh… that… Well, now you know how I felt when Sakura kissed you" I smirked.

"Manami-san, I am sorry about that" Sakura said.

"It's okay." I said.

Sasuke sighed.

"I guess your right. It hurts, but I'm sure that it'll never happen." Sasuke said.

"Right" I replied.

**-xx-**

"Hai, hai" I said.

_"And, you're not hurt?" _Neji said.

"No! I'm fine, Neji nii. I'm near the Konoha gates anyway"

_"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?? I'LL MEET YOU THERE!!" _Neji screamed before hanging up.

I sighed.

"My brother is too protective of me." I mumbled to no one in particular.

Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and I finally reached the Konoha gates.

My brother was already there.

"MANAMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!:" He screamed.

"Neji-nii, don't scream too much. I'm right here." I murmured.

"Gomen, but, you're the only family I have left." Neji sighed.

"Don't be such a drama queen. You have the main branch of the Hyuga clan as your family too." I said.

"Well… you're my only _**blood related**_ family I have left"

"Whatever"

I saw Gaara behind Neji and Kankuro behind Gaara.

"Nice to see you again, Manami" Gaara said.

I nodded.

"Hey, Manami… Etou… Don't take it too hard about the whole peeking-at-you-while-you-were-changing thing. I didn't manage to get your present though" Kankuro said.

"You peeked at my girl when she was changing?" Sasuke said with venom dripping in his voice.

"Y-Yeah… I'm sorry about that…" Kankuro said.

Sasuke was about to punch him, but I stopped his fist from making contact to Kankuro's face.

"Sasuke, it isn't worth it." I mumbled.

Sasuke took away his fist.

"Sorry" He murmured.

"It's okay" I said.

**-xx-**

"Here we are, at the lake, with all the other rookies, to celebrate Manami-chan's birthday!!!" Naruto yelled.

Everyone cheered and some dived in the lake.

I sighed and sat on the grass and watched everyone have a good time.

The sun was setting.

I smiled.

"Happy… late birthday" A voice said.

"Thanks, Sasuke" I said.

"No problem." He replied.

Sasuke sat beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"Hey, Sasuke?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"I want to thank you for everything you have done for me"

"I didn't do much though."

"You have made me one of the happiest girls in the world. I want you to know that"

"Manami…"

Sasuke brought his lips onto minethe Paisle.

I smiled softly.

He broke away.

"You've made me one of the happiest guys in the world. Arigatou" He said.

I kissed him once more.

For once in my life…

I was truly happy.

* * *

_I'm sorry if this was a short chapter. I only managed to get ten pages done. Hope you all like it!! . It's hard to get ideas for the Ouran fanfiction... sigh oh well... please review!! Arigato to:_

_- Shikyo no Sabaku_

_- Kagome395477_

_- Shashuko the Paisley Maiden_

_- c3cii_

_- yokusoku_

_- Angel Fate of the Desert_

_- Palomino Viper_

_- khfreak116 _

_- Guardian of Atlantis _

_Now, now... I know I have thank some users more than once, but I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!! Keep Reviewing to make the author happy!! A happy author means new chapters!! ARIGATO!!!! - _


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter Seventeen: Its Christmas! Party at Sasuke's!**_

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR THE SONGS THAT ARE SUNG IN THIS CHAPTER!!**

**A/N: People will be singing karaoke in this chapter. People will only be singing one verse and the chorus… maybe even the bridge.**

**Manami's Point Of View**

"It's Christmas, It's Christmas!!!" Kankuro sang in the house.

"Hey, Kankuro, tell me, every time you're in Konoha, do you _**have **_to stay at our house?" Neji asked.

"Yeah!" He yelled.

"Yo, Kuro-kun, Tema-chan, Gaara-kun!" I said as I was walking down the stairs.

"Hey Manami!" Temari said.

"Morning! I'm guessing that you beginning to warm up to me now… you know, since you gave me a cheesy nickname!" Kankuro said.

_In your dreams_ I thought.

"Hn" Gaara nodded.

"By the way, Christmas isn't until tomorrow. Today is Christmas Eve… and…. Aren't you guys supposed to be in the Suna?" I asked.

"We like it in Konoha" Temari grinned.

"You've been in Konoha for a month. Don't you miss your old home?" I asked once more.

"We miss Suna, but Konoha seems… less sandy" Temari said.

"Right" I mumbled.

**-xx-**

"Please, Sasuke???" I begged.

"No." He replied.

"Onegai (Please)!"

"No."

"Just this time!"

"No!"

"One party. That's it"

"What for? You could hold it at your house"

"HEY GUYS!!" A voice said.

We turned around to find Naruto waving madly at us.

"Hi, Naruto-kun" I said.

"What are you doing, Manami-chan?" He asked.

"I'm trying to get Sasuke to allow me to hold a party at his house" I said.

"What's the occasion?" He asked.

"Christmas" I said in a 'no-duh' tone of voice.

"OH YEAH!! I can't wait!! I'LL TELL THE ROOKIES ABOUT THE PARTY AT SASUKE-TEME'S HOUSE!!" Naruto said, and he ran off to tell the others.

"Well… at least now, the party can be held at your house!" I smiled.

"I hate you so much right now, Manami" Sasuke said.

"I know you love me!!" I grinned.

He sighed.

"Well, I'll get some decorations, and I'll be at your house soon. Meet me there!" I said.

"What if I don't agree to this idea?" He asked.

"You're going to have to agree to this idea. Christmas _**is**_ tomorrow" I said.

"My house is gonna be dirty again" Sasuke mumbled.

"Hey, it's _**already**_ dirty. I don't know what you're talking about" I pointed out.

"Well… still. I don't like parties." He said, crossing his arms.

"How can I make you stop complaining about the party?" I asked.

"I don't know. It'll probably be impossib—" He was cut off by me; I pressed my lips against his.

I broke away and whispered, "Now will you stop complaining?"

He nodded.

I grinned.

"Great! I'll meet you at your house!!" I said.

I ran off, but I forgot what I was going to get Sasuke.

"What the hell do I get for him?!?" I asked myself.

I thought for a while.

"What better present than my love?" I smiled.

I know that he's not going to be surprised that I didn't get him a present.

**Sasuke's Point Of View**

Manami ran off toward her house.

"What do I get her for Christmas?" I asked myself.

_Socks? No… Clothes? Too original. Well… I know she's not going to get me anything. The only thing I want is to kill Itachi, but I don't think that she can bring Itachi here for me so that I can kill him… _I thought.

I looked through the shops and found her the perfect present.

"She's going to love it" I whispered.

**Manami's Point Of View**

**-xx-**

"Decorations?" I asked.

"Check" Sasuke said.

"Christmas tree?"

"Check"

"Food?"

"Check"

"Presents?"

"Check"

"We're ready!!" I smiled.

"Somehow, I think I'm going to regret holding a party at my house." Sasuke whispered under his breath.

**-xx-**

"Welcome!!" I said, as I opened the door for the other rookies.

"Hi" they said.

Chouji and Naruto barged in and ran straight to the food.

"RAMEN!!" Naruto screamed.

"It's a wonder how Naruto doesn't get fat… I'm jealous" I said to Sakura.

She nodded, "Me too"

"Hey! How about we get this party started!!" Ino said.

"How?" Sakura asked.

"KARAOKE!!" Ino screamed.

Everyone cheered and Hinata and Tenten setup the karaoke microphones.

Naruto took the microphone and said, "WHO'S GOING TO GO FIRST!?!?"

"I'll go first!" Ino said.

Kiba cheered as Ino took the microphone.

**The Best Damn Thing By Avril Lavigne**

_Where are the hopes? Where are the dreams?  
My Cinderella story scene. When do you think  
they'll finally see... _

(Chorus)

That you're not, not, not, gonna get any better,  
you won't, won't, won't, you won't get rid of me  
never, like it or not even though she's a lot like  
me...

We're not the same, and yeah, yeah, yeah  
I'm a lot to handle, if you don't know, shove it,  
I'm a hell of a scandal, me, I'm a scene, I'm a  
drama queen, I'm the best damn thing that your  
eyes have ever seen! 

Everyone clapped.

Normally, I would've thought that this song was aimed at Sasuke, but Ino winked at Kiba.

I smiled.

"THE NEXT PERSON UP WILL BE MANAMI-CHAN!!!" Naruto yelled.

"Eh?" I said.

"Go Manami!" Chouji yelled.

"You can do it!" Temari said.

I looked towards Sasuke and he nodded.

I sighed.

"Well, I guess there's no choice." I said.

Everyone cheered.

**Cry By Mandy Moore**

_It was late in September and I've seen you before.  
You were always the cold one  
but I was never that sure  
you were all by yourself,  
staring up at a dark gray sky.  
I was changed_

_In places no one will find,  
all your feelings so deep inside.  
(Deep inside)  
Was there that I realized that forever was in your eyes.  
The moment I saw you cry.  
(The moment that I saw you cry)_

_I wanted to hold you.  
I wanted to make it go away.  
I wanted to know you.  
I wanted to make your everything,  
All right. _

I'll always remember… it was late afternoon 

I finished singing and looked at the rookies.

They were stunned, but they were silent.

"Uhm… thank you" I said.

I gave the microphone to Naruto and walked off.

Just then, I heard one person clapping.

I turned to find Sasuke, clapping for me.

Everyone smiled and began clapping like mad.

"Manami-chan, you rocked!" Kiba said.

"Heck yeah!" Kankuro cheered.

"Way to go, Manami!" Lee yelled.

I smiled.

I hugged Sasuke.

"Thank you" I said.

He smirked.

"I didn't know that you sang well" He said.

"I wonder if you can do the same thing" I replied.

By the way, who were you singing about?" He asked, smirking the whole time.

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked.

I gave him a small kiss and the cheers from the rookies got louder.

"ALRIGHT, MANAMI-CHAN! THE NEXT PERSON WILL BE… SASUKE-TEME!!" shouted Naruto.

I smirked.

"Just my luck…" Sasuke groaned.

**I've Got You By McFly**

_I never doubted you at all  
The stars collide; will you stand by and watch them fall?  
(Stand by and watch them fall)  
So hold me 'til the sky is clear  
And whisper words of love right into my ear _

'Cause I've got you to make me feel stronger  
When the days are rough and an hour seems much longer  
Yeah when I've got you  
Oh to make me feel better  
When the nights are long they'll be easier together

Looking in your eyes  
Hoping they won't cry  
And even if you do  
I'll be in bed so close to you  
To hold you through the night  
And you'll be unaware  
But if you need me I'll be there  


He finished singing and smirked at me.

I smirked back.

I clapped for him and everyone else did too.

He hugged me.

"You've changed me, Manami" He said.

"And I'm glad I did" I replied.

"I didn't know that you could sing that well" I said.

"Now you know" He smirked.

**-xx-**

Hours later, everyone began to get bored of the karaoke.

"What do we do now?" Shikamaru asked.

"Don't worry; it's already 11:50pm. In ten minutes, we'll be able to open our presents" I said.

"What do we do for the time being?" Shikamaru asked again.

"Ten minutes, Shika-kun. Surely, you can hold on for that long" I said.

"How troublesome…" He muttered.

"How about I call Temari over? Surely you won't be bored with her around" I smirked.

Shikamaru blushed slightly.

I laughed.

"I thought so…" I said.

I called Temari over and she began talking to Shikamaru.

Ten minutes later, Naruto began screaming, "IT'S OFFICIALLY CHRISTMAS!!! IT'S TIME TO OPEN THE PRESENTS!!!"

Everyone cheered and gave each other gifts.

I sighed softly, as I didn't get Sasuke a present.

Sasuke hugged me from behind and said, "I have a feeling that I have no gift from you"

"Gomen" I mumbled.

He chuckled.

"It's okay, but I have a present for you" He said.

I felt something cold against my neck.

I touched it.

"A… necklace?" I whispered.

"It's the only thing that I could get for you… I hope you like it. Merry Christmas." He said.

I smiled.

"I love it. Thank you. Merry Christmas, Sasuke" I said.

Then, I kissed him.

**Naruto's Point Of View**

I watched everyone get their gifts.

I smiled when I saw Manami and Sasuke.

Ever since Manami entered Sasuke's life, he's been less cold.

"A-Anou… Naruto-kun…" A soft voice said.

I turned around to find Hinata.

"Oh. Hey, Hinata" I smiled.

"Hi… a-anou… I have a present for you" She said.

"Really?" I asked.

I was surprised.

Normally, no one would give me presents, but to get one from the person I hardly notice? Surely, something was going on…

"Arigato Hinata, demo, why did you get a present for me?" I asked.

She blushed.

"Etou… I… Well… I admire you… so I thought I should get you a present…" She mumbled.

"Oh! You admire me? That's cool!" I said.

She nodded as I took the present from her.

I opened it to find a card saying: _Merry Christmas, Naruto-kun_ and with it were about a hundred ramen coupons!!!!

"Oh WOW!! Ramen coupons!! Thank you so much, Hinata!!!" I grinned.

She smiled softly.

"I couldn't think of what to get you… gomen, Naruto-kun" She said.

"It's okay! I love this present! Thanks!" I said.

I hugged her and she turned bright red.

I looked at her.

"Are you okay, Hinata? You look a bit red…" I asked.

"I-I'm okay…" She replied.

"Hinata, I've noticed that you're always turning red when you're around me. Are you sure you're okay?" I asked once more.

I thought I heard her mumble something like, "If only you knew"… I'm really not sure what she said.

I tried to get the answer out of her.

"Hinata, are you sick?" I asked.

"Iie, Naruto-kun" She replied.

"Hinata, Is there someone you like here?"

She turned bright red again.

"Ah-ha! So you _**do**_ like someone here! Who is it? Aw… don't tell me it's Sasuke-teme!" I said.

"No!! No, it's not Sasuke-kun" She said.

"Shino?"

"No"

"Kiba?"

"No"

"Shikamaru?"

"No"

"Chouji?"

"No"

"Lee?"

"No"

"Neji?"

"NO!! He's my (somewhat) cousin!!"

"Gaara?"

"No"

"Kankuro?"

"No"

"Well… I've named every guy in this room, except for me. CHOTTO MATTE!! Don't tell me you like girls!" I said.

"NO!!" She yelled.

"Well… if you don't like a girl… and you don't like any other guy in this room…. Doe this mean that you like…." I began

She blushed.

"Do you like a sensei!?!?" I asked.

She sighed.

"No, Naruto-kun. I don't like a sensei. I like you!!" She said.

My eyes widened.

"M-Me?"

"Oops!! That wasn't supposed to come out!!" She whispered.

"So… you like me?" I asked.

She looked down and nodded slowly.

"I see…" I said, "Well, how about we go out sometime. We can get to know each other!"

She smiled at me.

"I'd like that, Naruto-kun" She said.

* * *

_I am very sorry that this chapter is short!! WAAAAHH!! ARIGATO TO MY REVIEWERS!!! THANK YOU!!! I'LL GET TO CHAPTER EIGHTEEN A.S.A.P!!!! -_


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter Eighteen: Sakura Festival! Happy New Year!**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!!**

**Hinata's Point Of View**

He hugged me.

He _**HUGGED**_ me!!

He knows now.

He knows I like him.

I AM SO HAPPY!

"Ne, Hinata, Why don't we go out for ramen tomorrow?" Naruto said.

_Tomorrow? TOMORROW! I'LL BE GOING OUT WITH NARUTO-KUN TOMORROW!! _I happily thought.

"H-Hai! I'd like to go out for ramen" I said.

"Great! I'll pick you up tomorrow evening at seven o'clock… I guess it's a date!" He grinned.

**Manami's Point Of View**

I went over to Hinata and said, "Hinata-sama, I saw you and Naruto-kun hugging… is something going on?"

You should know why I asked this… I mean, Hinata really likes Naruto, but he's so oblivious.

"Help me" Is all she said.

"Help you with what?"

"I don't know what to wear. I don't know what to say. I don't know what to _**do**_!" Hinata mumbled.

"What's this all for?" I asked.

"He asked me to go on a date with him!!" She squirmed.

"Naruto-kun asked you out?!?!?" I asked.

"Hai!" She said.

"OH MY GOD!! I'm so going to help you out with this!!" I smiled.

**-xx-**

"How about this?" I asked.

"No…" answered Hinata.

"This one?" I asked once more.

"It's too… unlike me," replied Hinata.

I sighed.

She wanted me to help her find something to wear but she's not picking any of her other clothes.

It was 6:50pm.

"Hinata-sama. It's obvious you're taking this too seriously. Why don't you just go in your normal clothes and be yourself?" I asked.

"Are you sure…?" She mumbled.

"Of course!" I said.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Oh my god!! He's here! He's here!! WHAT DO I DO!?!??" She practically screamed.

"Hinata-sama, please calm down and you'll have a great time with him…" I said.

"O-Okay…" She stuttered.

I opened the door.

"Manami-chan, what are you doing here? Where's Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto-kun, I'm a Hyuga. I'm obviously allowed to be in the Main Branch Hyuga household." I said.

"Ohh… and Hinata…?" He asked.

"She's coming" I said.

Hinata came downstairs and said, "Hi, Naruto-kun"

I smiled.

"Well, have fun!" I said.

I left them there and I went to my house.

**-xx-**

"It's almost New Year… You know what that means Neji-nii" I said.

It was The 30th of December.

"What?" said Neji flatly.

"Sakura Festival. You're going to have to get a date!" I said.

"Date? With who?" He asked, flipping the channels on the television.

"No-duh. Ten-chan" I muttered.

"Tenten?! But she's… on my team!" He yelled.

"So?"

"It'll be awkward!!"

"So?"

"And… What if she doesn't want to go with me?"

"She'll go. I know."

"How?"

"I just do. Now hurry up and ask her, or I will!"

He sighed in defeat.

Oh how I_** love **_winning arguments!

Neji left the house to ask Tenten.

Just then, my phone rang.

"Moshi, Moshi?" I said.

_"Manami, go out with me."_

"Sasuke, ever heard of saying hello? And, what do you mean 'go out' with you? I already am."

_"I mean go out with me at the Sakura festival"_

"Sure. I don't see why I can't."

_"Great. I'll see you then"_

"Cool… Bye."

_"Bye"_

"Oh! Sasuke?"

_"Yeah?"_

"I love you."

I could tell that he was smirking.

_"I love you too"_

**-xx-**

"So, tell me again, _**why **_is it called the 'Sakura Festival'?" Temari asked.

"It's called the Sakura Festival because it's to celebrate all the Sakura trees we have in Konoha, it's usually held on New Years, to make it more special and festive" I explained.

"Souka (I see)… so will I have to come?" She asked.

"You don't have to, and besides, aren't you supposed to be in Suna?" I asked.

"We _**really**_ like it in Konoha. There's nothing to do in Suna. We'll leave as soon as the Sakura Festival ends" Temari grinned.

"Okay. So, on the subject of the Sakura Festival… who's going to be your date?" I smirked.

"Oh! I… um… I don't know… There's no one that would want to go with me…" She mumbled.

"Tema-chan?" I said.

"Hai?"

"Shika-kun," I said, "Ask him"

She was burning red, "No! No… what if he says no… what if he doesn't like me back…?" She mumbled.

"You _**LIKE**_ him!?!? WHOA!!" I yelled.

"NO! N-NO!!" She shouted.

"So… Why him?" I asked.

"You don't need to know…" mumbled Temari.

"Just go and ask him out! He'll be sure to say yes!" I smiled.

She nodded, "Thanks, Manami"

I nodded back, "Anytime Tema-chan."

She left the house.

**-xx-**

"Hinata-sama!!!" I called.

Hinata ran over to her room.

"Hai, Manami-oneesan?" asked Hinata.

She was obviously busy with my brother, who was downstairs. Hinata was trying to convince my brother to befriend her, or at least, be an acquaintance.

"It's time to pick your kimono" I said.

"Oh, right…" She said.

I already had my kimono with me; I laid it out on Hinata's bed. I was planning to change at her house and meet the others in front of the Hokage's building.

As we were scanning through her closet, I said, "Hinata-sama, you never told me about your date with Naruto-kun"

She turned a bright red.

"A-Anou… H-How about this kimono?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

"Hinata-sama, tell me how the date went!" I smirked.

"Well, it was nice" She said.

"_**Just**_ nice? There's got to be more" I said.

"Well, we had ramen…" She mumbled.

"And..?"

"We went for a walk together…"

"Where?!"

"Just at the lake"

"What else happened?"

"We talked"

"MORE IMFORMATION DAMN IT!!"

"Okay, okay! Um… We talked, and we learnt more about each other…"

I sighed. She wasn't getting to the point.

I breathed in, about to ask her, 'did he kiss you or not?'

"We did _**it**_" She smiled.

My eyes widened.

"EWWWWW!! YOU DID _**IT**_?!?" I screamed.

"Manami-oneesan! We didn't do _**it**_!! I had my first kiss!" She blushed.

"Ohh… okay… were you happy with that kiss?" I asked.

"Yes and… Naruto-kun said that it was his first kiss too"

"How cute… it's a bit like a fairytale"

She blushed even more and said, "I want to wear this kimono"

Hinata's kimono was pure white; she had a purple, long sleeved shirt under it as well. She also had a yellow sash, with the color purple outlining it, around her waist. Her kimono ended at the ankles.

She got changed and I said, "You look beautiful"

She waited downstairs whilst I changed into my kimono.

I walked downstairs and smiled.

"How do I look?" I asked

Hinata and Neji turned around to look at me.

Their jaws were slightly dropping.

"It's not too much, is it?" I asked.

They shook their heads. "No!" They said.

My kimono was grey, with a few white flowers, big and small, imprinted on random spots on it. I wore a very light yellow sash around my waist. The kimono ended at the tops of my ankles.

Of course, I was wearing the necklace Sasuke gave me for Christmas. It seems like I can't seem to take it off.

It was precious.

"You look amazing!" Neji said.

I gave him a funny look, "Aren't you supposed to be with Ten-chan?"

His eyes went wide.

"Oh crap!!" He yelled.

He ran out of the house screaming, "I am so sorry, Tenten!!"

I laughed as Hinata and I walked out of the house, towards the Hokage's building, where the other rookies were.

**-xx-**

"Welcome to Konoha's Sakura Festival!! Since tonight is December the 31st, we will be celebrating New Years!!" Tsunade yelled in the microphone.

I was honestly surprised to see a stage set up there.

Everyone cheered and went along with their dates.

Hinata left with Naruto and I was left there, searching for my date.

_Maybe he didn't come… _I wondered.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist from behind.

"Sasuke?" I said.

As if he read my mind, he said, "I came for you"

I smiled to myself.

"Good. Now let's get going!" I said.

**-xx-**

"Eat it!" I said.

"No. I do not eat that stuff" said Sasuke.

"Come on! Eat it!!"

"No… it's too sweet. I don't eat sweets"

"That's it. If you're not going to eat it yourself, then I'm going to force it in you!!" I yelled.

Sasuke's eyes widened as I grabbed a bunch and stuffed it in his mouth.

"Now, chew!" I ordered.

He began chewing.

I gave Sasuke some fairy floss.

I wanted him to see what sweets taste like.

It's so obvious he hasn't eaten sweets in a long time.

As he tasted the fairy floss, he mumbled, "It's good."

I smirked.

"Told you!" I said.

"Give me some more." He mumbled again.

I smirked, "You're gonna have to catch me, if you can!"

He smirked.

I began running with the fairy floss in my hand.

He chased after me.

Hours later, we had ended up tired out in the forest.

"We're a bit far from the festival" I said, panting.

"I'd take that as an advantage" Sasuke smirked.

"How?" I asked.

"Like this" He said.

He tackled me to the ground.

He was on top of me, pinning my hands beside my head.

He was smirking the whole time.

His face was inches away from mine.

I could feel his warm breath against my lips.

"I love you, Manami" He said.

"I love you too, Sasuke" I smiled.

He brought his soft lips against mine.

He brought me back to my feet, still kissing me.

I brought my arms to his neck and he wrapped his hands around my waist, making both of our bodies bang together, bringing us closer.

He broke away and said, "Can I have some fairy floss now?"

I smirked.

"I guess so" I said.

I gave him the fairy floss and he ate it.

We came back to the festival, finding nearly everyone with a date.

Even Shino, Kankuro and Chouji landed a date.

Shino got another girl from his clan, Kankuro got one other girl from this village and Chouji got a girl who loved to eat as well.

Everyone looked happy.

Except Gaara.

I walked to him, Sasuke following me closely behind, and said, "Be happy, Gaara-kun. I'm sure you'll end up having a great time here"

* * *

_Sorry if it took too long, it's hard to work on two fanfictions at once!! PLEASE REVIEW!!_


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter Nineteen: Valentines Day. This is farewell.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I totally wished that I did. But no… I envy you, Kishimoto Masashi-san!**

**Manami's Point of View**

Suddenly, I felt pain surge throughout my body.

I screamed in pain, which caused nearly everyone to look at me.

"Manami! What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.

I screamed once more, ignored Sasuke's request and ran towards the forest.

I stopped running when I saw a dark figure in the shadows of the rustling trees.

"I've come for you, Manami-chan," A voice said.

"Who are you?" I asked

My voice blended with my demon's voice.

My demon's voice sounded much more sophisticated than mine. It almost sounded godly.

"I'm your demon's enemy," The voice said.

At first I didn't know what he was talking about, that is, until I saw two piercing, red eyes.

"Itachi…" I mumbled.

"Correct," He said.

He came out of the shadows, wearing an Akatsuki coat.

I forced my demon to retain its composure.

My jaw was clenched, and I grimaced.

"What do you want?" I sneered, as Itachi came closer circling calmly around me.

"I want your demon, Manami-chan," He smirked.

"I'm not going to give up that easily," I said.

My knuckles were going white, for the fact that I was clutching my hands so tightly.

"I know you aren't, but I'll fight you for it," He said.

"I'm not going to fight you. I'm keeping my demon, whether you like it or not," I said.

"Manami-chan… it's not like you have a choice," He taunted.

Itachi punched me in the back hard and I fell over.

I don't know why, but I didn't feel the need to fight.

**Sasuke's Point Of View**

Manami ran off towards the wood and I followed her.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Itachi, my bastard of a brother, was beating up my girlfriend.

I watched in horror as she got kicked and punched.

"Why aren't you fighting back?!" Itachi yelled.

"I don't need to fight, but my demon does," She smirked.

She began taking form of her demon.

Her skin was turning purple and her light, white eyes became an enchanting green, similar to the colour of Gaara's eyes. Her cursed mark began spreading around her body.

I came out of the bushes and shook her.

"Manami snap out of it!!" I screamed.

"How nice to see you again, little brother," Itachi said.

"SHUT UP!" I screamed.

I ran to him and began punching and kicking him, but they would have no effect. He would just dodge and kick me back.

I was fighting him too much to notice Manami's body.

"Sasuke, back off… he's _**mine**_," She sneered.

I turned around to find Manami with light purple flames all over her body, along with the cursed mark.

"Manami…" I whispered.

Manami began screaming out in pain and clutched her head.

I gasped as I saw another body coming out of her (And no, she wasn't giving birth).

The two-tailed demon was being separated from Manami.

_**Finally, I'm free…**_ The demon said.

Manami gave way to her knees, and fell to the ground.

I caught her and her mouth was bleeding.

"Manami! Manami!!" I yelled, her head was on my lap.

Whilst the demon was fighting my brother, Itachi smirked the whole time.

"Nibi no Nekomata…" Itachi said.

_**I don't care if you know my name, I want you DEAD!!**_ The demon screamed.

Soon enough, the demon slowly got tired and Manami's bleeding was getting worse.

"Nibi no Nekomata, you _**do**_ realize that if you're gone from your host for too long, you'll die and so will Manami-chan, right?" Itachi smirked.

I gasped and looked at Manami.

"Neko… come back…" Manami's voice was hoarse, but we could hear her.

She was in pain.

The demon saw this and said, _**Hai, Manami-sama…**_

The demon went back to Manami quickly and she slowly got up.

"Itachi… you're not going to get away with that…" She said.

I prepared my chidori and ran to Itachi.

"TAKE THIS, YOU BASTARD!!!" I screamed.

Itachi kicked me hard in the stomach and I flew back.

He threw some kunai and shuriken at me and they all hit me in the stomach.

"You're still too weak, little brother," Itachi said.

"Why did you kill our family, Itachi?" I asked weakly.

"For reasons you will not comprehend, little brother," Itachi said once more.

"DON'T ACT LIKE I'M YOUR BROTHER!! FOR ALL I KNOW, YOU ARE NOT MY BROTHER!!" I screamed.

"I wouldn't care either," He said.

Manami was about to stab him from behind, but Itachi caught her and grabbed her wrist.

He twisted it and Manami winced.

"I'll be coming back for you, Manami-chan," Itachi whispered in her ear

Her eyes widened as Itachi pulled her into a kiss.

Manami pushed him away and he fled.

She screamed out, "FUCK YOU, ITACHI!!!"

She began spitting and wiping her mouth.

"Disgusting…" She mumbled.

She ran over to me.

"Sasuke! Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine," I said.

She slung my arm around her shoulder and we limped together towards the hospital.

On the way, we were given questions like, "What happened? And "Are you alright?"

When we reached the hospital, we were given separate rooms.

Manami insisted that she should stay with me.

The doctors hesitated at first, but let her stay in my room.

She slowly opened the door.

"Hey…" She whispered.

**Manami's Point Of View**

"Hey…" I whispered as I entered the room.

"Hi," He said.

I sat on a chair beside his bed and held his hand.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Am I okay about what? The fight or the kiss?" Sasuke asked.

"Sasuke, that kiss meant nothing, trust me," I said, squeezing his hand a little.

He sighed and nodded.

"I guess you're right…" He whispered.

"Besides, I didn't like that kiss. If I have kisses with others, they don't feel as special like the ones you give me," I said.

Sasuke smirked.

"Are you saying that you want me to kiss you?" He asked.

"Maybe, maybe not…" I smirked.

Sasuke leaned over and placed his hand behind my neck.

Then, we kissed.

**-xx-**

I woke up that next morning with my head on Sasuke's chest and his arm wrapped around my waist.

Sasuke was already awake, and he watching me.

"Good morning, sleepy head," Sasuke said.

"Good morning to you too," I smirked.

I sat up and stretched.

"Manami, how about we go on a date tonight? You know… for fun?" Sasuke asked, also sitting up.

"I'd love that," I smiled.

I gently hugged him.

He seemed like the normal old Sasuke, all right, but I had a feeling that something was bothering him.

"SASUKE-TEME!!" A voice screamed.

"You have company," I said.

He sighed. "You think?"

Just then Naruto came running into the room screaming into Sasuke's ear, "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED LAST NIGHT!?!"

"Nothing, dobe (loser)," Sasuke muttered.

"Sasuke-teme, you no fun!!!" Naruto whined.

"Hn," He said.

**-xx-**

"So, here we are, in front of the lake together, with no one else around," I smirked.

"You make it sound like a dirty thing," Sasuke said.

"It depends on how you think of the thought, I find it a little romantic," I said as I sat on the edge of the dock, my foot tapping the smooth water continuously, creating ripples.

"Manami, I… I love you so much, and you know that, right?" Sasuke said.

"Of course I know that," I said, not knowing where this conversation was headed.

He sat down beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"Do you love me?" He asked quietly.

"I love you more than anything in the world, if you were to be gone, I don't how I would cope," I said, "But trust me, if you left, I would feel more distant from the world… I guess I would be sad without you,"

Sasuke's face showed pain, as if he were going to regret something.

"Sorry, I was babbling on…" I said.

Sasuke pulled me into a tight hug and said, "I love you, Manami,"

I smiled and said, "I love you too, Sasuke,"

When we let go, I clutched the necklace Sasuke had given me.

**-xx-**

For the following month, I couldn't fall asleep.

Of course, it was valentines day today, but it didn't feel as romantic as it should be.

Sasuke didn't look happy at all.

The look on Sasuke's face on our date was etched in my mind.

It was reaching the wee hours of the morning, maybe around 1am.

I got out of bed and sorted out my thoughts.

My brother was sleeping peacefully in his bed.

_Sasuke showed a lot of love today, which is a bit strange…He looked like he was going to regret something… but what? _I thought.

I looked back on our memories, until I realized the words given to me at the forest of death.

Orochimaru said something about Sasuke and me coming to him for power.

I touched my cursed mark on my neck and gasped.

"He wouldn't…" I whispered.

I quickly got changed and began running to the road that leads to the exit of Konoha.

**3****rd**** Person's Point Of View/ No One's Point Of View**

Manami Hyuga ran as fast as she could to the road.

"He wouldn't… He wouldn't… He promised me!!" She cried, remembering that time when she promised Sasuke she wouldn't leave him.

_"Please don't leave me" He whispered._

_"Only if you promise not to leave me"_

_"I promise"_

_I smiled softly and kissed him._

_"Goodnight" She said._

_"Night" He replied._

She reached the road and saw Sasuke walking towards the exit of Konoha.

Manami felt a pang of disappointment and hurt in my heart.

"Why…?" She whispered.

Sasuke looked at her sadly, but brushed past her, as if this was nothing to him.

Manami grabbed his arm and turned to look at him.

"You promised me that you wouldn't leave me," She said, looking at him directly at the eye.

She could feel tears heating up at the back of her eyes.

"Sasuke…" She whispered.

He began, "Manami, I'm sorry but—"

"Saying sorry is not going to fix anything, Sasuke!!" She yelled.

Manami tried her best to not cry, but she couldn't. Tears ran down her cheeks freely.

"Why, Sasuke?" She asked quietly.

"My dream is not where my future is, unless I go to Orochimaru… that way, I can get more power," Sasuke mumbled.

Sasuke was getting hurt with all of this as well.

"Sasuke, if you leave, do you know what's going to happen to me?" Manami asked seriously.

"If you're going to grow up to hate me, then so be it. I need to kill Itachi and I'll sacrifice anything to make that dream a reality." Sasuke said, looking at the ground, not making eye contact with Manami.

"You'd even sacrifice me…? How could you be so _**cruel**_?!?" Manami yelled.

"Manami, I love you," Sasuke said.

"All those times when I loved you, were you planning it from the start? To leave my heart broken?!?" She yelled once more.

"No, I didn't plan for this to happen, but I need to do this, Manami," said Sasuke.

"Don't you get it?! You can be stronger here!! We can all help you!!" insisted Manami.

"Manami, I've made my decision… not even you can stop me," said Sasuke.

Sasuke felt tears burning up at the back of his head, but he didn't cry.

Manami hugged him from behind, clutching the front of his shirt.

"Please, don't leave…" She whispered.

Sasuke grimaced and turned to face her.

He hugged her tightly, wrapping his arms around her.

"This hurts me much more than it hurts you… so please, don't cry…" mumbled Sasuke.

"Sasuke, I love you… but if you go to Orochimaru, you may as well say good bye to me," whispered Manami.

Sasuke leaned in to kiss her.

She kissed back, with tears streaming down her face.

Her tears touched Sasuke's shirt and fell to the ground.

Sasuke never wanted to let go of her.

But, he had to.

He let go and said, "I'll come back for you."

"How could you leave like this…? How could you leave everything behind…? How could you leave me?" Manami cried.

Sasuke didn't answer, but kissed Manami softly once more.

"This time, I promise that I'll come back for you, as soon as I'm strong enough," Sasuke whispered in her ear, his tears were close to falling.

Then, Sasuke disappeared, leaving Konoha for good.

Manami's eyes widened and she screamed out, "SASUKE!!!!!!!!!!"

Manami's knees fell to the ground and she stuffed her face in her hands.

Tears couldn't help but fall, for Manami had never experienced such a heart breaking moment.

Manami stood up and ran to the Hokage's building at neck-breaking speed.

She slammed the door opened.

Tsunade was still in finishing off some paper work that Shizune gave her.

Manami's eyes were beginning to get swollen from the crying, but she didn't care.

Tsunade look up quickly to find Manami, panting and crying.

"Manami, what's wrong?" Tsunade asked.

Still panting, Manami said,

"It's Sasuke… He's gone."

* * *

_Oh man... I **almost**_ _cried when I was writing this chapter. Aw man... I know it's sad, but I had to do it. It is a very important part for this whold story anyway... but please, take your time to review. Thank you or reading this story too. Just one more chpater to go and the story is finished. But, don't worry, I'll be making a sequel. Thanks for reading and please review... Also, I have a Kakashi love story I'm working on._


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter Twenty: Goodbye, Konoha**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**A/N:**

**I also kind of copied a scene from the Shippuuden series… you know when Sakura punches the ground and everything is destroyed…? Yeah.**

**Manami's Point Of View**

Over the past few weeks I couldn't laugh.

I couldn't smirk.

I couldn't smile.

My face remained emotionless, but every night, I would cry.

I have been training so hard, hoping that when I find Sasuke, I can bring him back to Konoha… using force.

I didn't talk to anybody who wasn't close to me.

I would think about ripping off the necklace Sasuke gave me, but as every night passes, it would be herder decision for me to make.

Did I really want to give up on Sasuke?

**-xx-**

I walked around Konoha, hoping to find Kakashi.

_"You're a really skilled ninja. You have enough skill to become a jounin ninja, possibly an ANBU. Do you want to become one?" Kakashi asked. I shrugged. "Maybe, I'll… think about it." I mumbled._

I remembered those words that Kakashi gave me when I fought him for the bells.

I found Kakashi standing in front of the book store.

He was most likely to be waiting for the new arrivals of make-out paradise.

As I walked closer to him, he made eye contact with me.

"Kakashi-sensei," I said.

"Manami," He replied.

"Kakashi-sensei, do you remember when you asked me if I could become an ANBU ninja?" I asked.

He nodded.

"I'll become one," I said.

"Is it because of Sasuke?" He asked.

There was a short pause.

"Please don't mention his name in front of me," I mumbled.

"Uh, sorry… I'll recommend you to the others and they will test your strength," said Kakashi.

I nodded and walked away.

I tried to find Naruto.

I heard that he was going to leave Konoha.

As usual, I found him at Ichiraku Ramen.

He was eating at least 45 bowls.

He turned and his face softened.

"Hey, Manami-chan…' He said.

I nodded and said, "Hi, Naruto-kun,"

I sat down next to him as he continued to eat his ramen, but more slowly.

"Naruto-kun, I heard you're going to leave Konoha to become stronger… is that true?" I asked.

He nodded solemnly, "Yeah…"

"Take me with you," I said.

"Why?"

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke has left. I don't feel strong. I need more training. If you leave, it'll just be me and Sakura. I don't want to be in that position,"

"I see…"

"Take me with you, away from Konoha. When will you be leaving?"

"We'll be leaving in two days, but I think ero-sennin (Perverted Hermit a.k.a. Jiraiya) was going to take you anyway… I heard him say something to Kakashi about taking you with him…"

"Do you know why he's taking me?"

"No… but I know he's taking me to make me stronger with my demon…"

"I have a demon too,"

"You too?!"

"I have the two-tailed demon,"

"Well… at least you're not alone."

_I __**am**__ alone, Naruto-kun. _I thought.

"So, please, take me with you," I said.

"Okay…" He said.

**-xx-**

I woke up early the next morning, knowing that the ANBU ninjas were planning to test me that day.

I did my morning routine and ran to the training grounds.

Kakashi was already there… surprisingly.

"Good morning, Manami. I know you're going to leave Konoha too, with Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi said.

I nodded as three ANBU members appeared.

"Okay, Hyuga Manami. You'll be fighting one of us and the two remaining will be assessing your skills as you fight," A female with an ANBU mask on said.

"Hn," I said.

One ANBU ninja stepped up and said, "Let's start."

I disappeared straight away and shot three fire arrows at him.

He dodged but one hit him on the leg.

I reappeared behind him and held a kunai to his throat, slowly slitting his throat. The fire arrow was still stuck in his leg.

The ninja winced, but he disappeared.

He took the arrow out; since I sensed the fire go out.

He began doing hand-to-hand combat with me.

He punched me on the cheek and I punched as hard as I could in his gut.

We both flew back a bit, but we kept going.

He threw a couple of kunai at me and a few cut my skin, but it was no big deal… although he was close to hitting my vital organs.

I ran straight to him and pinned him against a tree.

I took out four kunai and stabbed him on both of his arms and legs.

Suddenly he turned into a big 'poof'.

As the small cloud faded, a log was visible.

"Substitution jutsu! Chikushou…" I mumbled.

I looked around and thought about where he could be.

_Left… No. Right, No. Above? No… that only leaves…_

"BELOW!!" I screamed.

I punched the ground with loads of chakra and the ground surrounding me, Kakashi and the other ANBU ninjas destroyed.

Kakashi and his comrades had to jump onto a tree for safety.

"Kakashi… that's some student you got there," The ninja next to Kakashi said.

"Yeah… she's one of the best," I heard Kakashi say.

The ANBU ninja I was fighting _**was**_ hiding in the ground.

"Got ya…" I whispered.

I reappeared in front of him and grabbed him by the collar.

"No more games. I want this to be over and done with," I grimaced.

I heard one person clapping in the background.

"Well done, Manami. Just what I would expect from my student!" bragged Kakashi.

I rolled my eyes and asked, "Is the test over?"

"Yeah," The female ANBU ninja said.

I loosened my grip on the guy's collar and dropped him.

"Do you want to know how you did?" She asked.

I nodded.

"Well, I've gotta say, you're really skilled. It would be waste if we rejected you to join the ANBU. I guess you're one of us now." The female ninja said.

"Ah, but Manami is going to leave Konoha tomorrow… isn't that a problem?" Kakashi asked.

"Oh, yeah. That will be a problem…" The girl mumbled.

"Don't worry, she'll be under my training with Naruto," A voice in the trees said.

I turned around to find Jiraiya smirking and saying, "Manami is going to be coming with me. She'll return in two and a half years, stronger than ever."

"Who'll attend the ANBU meetings for her?" The female asked.

"Who cares about the meetings? They're too boring anyway," Jiraiya said.

"Demo, Jiraiya-sama!!" The female said.

"That's enough. I'll be training her, but she will still be an ANBU member," Jiraiya said seriously.

I walked off and said, "I'll see you tomorrow, Jiraiya-sama,"

**Jiraiya's Point Of View**

I watched Manami walk away.

Kakashi stepped behind me and said, "Take good care of her, okay? I don't want one of my students getting killed when she has a goal to fulfill."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure Manami is happy. I won't be so sure about Naruto though… he _**is**_ a _**tad**_ annoying," I said.

Kakashi chuckled.

**Manami's Point Of View**

**-xx-**

It was 6:00am.

Strangely my brother wasn't in his bed, which was next to mine.

I did my morning routine and walked slowly to the Konoha gates.

I kept my gaze on the ground.

I finally reached the gates and when I looked up, I gasped.

"Everyone…" I whispered.

All the rookies, senseis and even the hokage, Tsunade, were at the gates, all smiling at me.

Even the sand siblings were there.

"We'll miss you, Manami" Tsunade said.

Everyone agreed and nodded.

"We know that you'll become stronger than ever," Kankuro added.

"And that you'll take care of that baka Naruto" Kiba grinned.

"HEY!" Naruto said, next to Jiraiya.

I nodded, but still couldn't smile.

"Thanks, everyone," I said.

I turned to Neji.

"Neji-nii, look after Hinata-sama and yourself. Don't worry too much about me," I said.

"Hinata-sama, don't give up on being stronger. I believe in you," I said, turning to Hinata.

"Gaara-kun. You'll take care of yourself, right. I know you will. Pursue your goals. Be everything that you can," I said, giving him a hug.

"Ino and Sakura, I know we were off at a bad start, but now, I'm telling you to look after your boyfriends." I said to them.

Sakura and Ino smiled and nodded.

**-xx-**

I looked at Naruto, who gave Hinata a small kiss before leaving.

_Well… at least Hinata doesn't cry when her love is leaving… _I thought, thinking about what Sasuke did to me.

After I finished saying our last goodbyes, I walked out the gates with Naruto and Jiraiya, waving slowly back at the other rookies.

"GOOD LUCK, MANAMI!!!" Lee screamed.

"DON'T GIVE UP!!" Neji yelled.

The ninjas continuously shouted like this for a while until we were out of sight.

"I'm gonna miss everyone…" Naruto said.

Jiraiya grinned, "Don't worry, Naruto! You learn so much when you're with me! You'll learn so much about the human body, especially the woman's bod—"

I smacked his head very hard, leaving a big lump on the top of his head.

"Urusai, hentai (pervert)," I mumbled.

Jiraiya pouted but smirked later on.

_Manami will grow up to be a powerful ninja. I hope she'll be happy when we return. _Jiraiya thought.

* * *

_Okays... so that was the last chapter!! I'll make the chpater to the sequel as soon as possible!! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH TO AlL MY REVIEWERS!! I LOVE YOU ALL SOO MUCH! PLEASE REVIEW AND YOU'LL BE SURE TO FIND THE SEQUEL!! HOORAH!! Please take your time to review! Not too hard!! THANKS SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HAS READ THIS!!! WOOT WOOT!! _


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